Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy is trying to clean up a one-word X post that detonated online and sparked accusations he was cheering for Iran during the U.S. war effort.
“Awesome,” Murphy wrote in response to a post claiming 26 ships in Iran’s shadow fleet had made it past the U.S. blockade in the Gulf of Oman.
The reaction was swift. Commenters demanded to know whether Murphy’s account had been hacked and blasted him for appearing to celebrate Iran slipping sanctions and pressure at sea.
“It takes an insane level of Trump Derangement Syndrome to cheer for a terrorist regime that chants ‘Death to America,’” White House spokesperson Olivia Wales told Fox News Digital.
“Chris Murphy is an America-last, radical left lunatic who stands for illegal aliens and Iranian terrorists over the American people. The only thing ‘awesome’ will be when he is out of office,” Wales added.
Murphy’s office later insisted the post was not praise at all.
“The tweet was sarcasm,” a spokesperson told Fox News Digital in a statement. “Chris obviously thinks it’s terrible that Donald Trump continues to mishandle every aspect of a war he started but clearly has no strategy to end.”
That explanation did not stop the pile-on.
“First of all this is false,” wrote Sean Parnell, assistant to the secretary of war for public affairs, disputing the report Murphy responded to. “Second, a Dem senator cheering on the number one state sponsor of terror is shameful.”
“This is what late stage TDS looks like: Cheering on Iran to defeat the U.S. Navy,” the Trump War Room account posted.
“This U.S. senator is publicly cheering for America’s enemy during war. The Senate should vote to censure him,” wrote Mike Davis, founder and president of the Article III Project.
“Was Sen. Murphy’s account hacked?” wrote Washington Examiner chief political correspondent Byron York.
“Chris Murphy roots against America,” conservative commentator Steve Guest posted.
Ok Twitter, I can’t believe I need to clarify this but obviously Trump’s bungled mismanagement of this war is not “awesome”. As I have said a million times here, it’s a disaster and he should end the war immediately. My tweet was something called “sarcasm”. https://t.co/aL9vSEzZC1
— Chris Murphy 🟧 (@ChrisMurphyCT) April 21, 2026
Murphy addressed the blowback in a brief exchange with Fox News on Tuesday morning, suggesting he misjudged how the post would land.
“I guess I just have to be more careful about sarcasm on Twitter,” he said.
Murphy went on to call X “kind of a cesspool” and claimed “sarcasm is not something … allowed … any longer.” He said he believes Trump’s handling of the war is “bungled” and “mismanaged” and should be ended “as quickly as possible.”
The controversy also collided with questions about the underlying claim. Fox News chief foreign correspondent Trey Yingst said on Fox & Friends that there is “no evidence” that Iranian shadow fleet vessels, used to evade sanctions, have made it through the U.S. blockade.
Operation Epic Fury began Feb. 28, 2026, when U.S. forces, alongside partner forces, launched a coordinated military campaign against Iran.
The Trump administration has used naval and air power to squeeze Iranian shipping around the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman as it pressures Tehran over its nuclear program.
Murphy has been a consistent critic of Trump’s foreign policy and has recently attacked the president’s rhetoric and conduct tied to the conflict, calling it “a clear war crime.”
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