Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Fast Forward

Ex-Trump loyalist Lev Parnas trolls Trump with a “one-arm water challenge”

A former die-hard supporter of President Donald Trump took to Twitter yesterday to mock him.

Lev Parnas, a central figure in the Trump–Ukraine scandal that led to the President’s impeachment, drank a glass of water using only one hand.

The challenge is an Internet meme that mocks Trump for using two hands to gingerly drink from a glass of water last week. The president used 20 minutes of his campaign speech in Tulsa, OK to explain his awkward drinking style.

Parnas’ Twitter profile describes him as “under indictment” and belonging to the “post-cult of Trump.” Along with his associate Igor Fruman, the two Jewish, Ukrainian-born businessmen were arrested Oct. 9, 2019 at Dulles International Airport, and charged with trying to influence U.S.-Ukraine relations by directing foreign funds to U.S. politicians. Parnas later released a recording of a conversation with President Trump in which the President directs an aide to fire then-U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch, whom the Kremlin opposed.

Igor Fruman and Lev Parnas

Igor Fruman and Lev Parnas Image by Getty

In the Tweet, which as of Monday afternoon has been viewed 47,000 times, he explains that his children nominated him to do this “very hard challenge.” Parnas lifts a glass of water to his lips–with one hand– sips, then puts it down. Children cheer off camera.

Parnas then urged his lawyer, Joseph Bondy, and other fathers, to join him in the challenge, “so we can unite America again.”

A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.