This Jewish Congressman’s Tweet About North Korea And Marijuana…Oy.
Rep. Brad Sherman, a Democrat from California, announces a $180,000 grant for a community center in his district. Image by flickr
(JTA) — On Wednesday, Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Calif, attended a classified briefing with Vice President Mike Pence on the North Korea nuclear threat.
By the next day, he’d become a target of Twitter snark, for a hypothetical challenge that sounded like something out of a Seth Rogen-James Franco movie.
Sherman, who comes from what he will tell you is the best-named city in the world, Sherman Oaks, California, was not reassured by his meeting with Pence. “At classified briefing @VP urged members to ‘convey the Administration’s level of resolve to confront N. Korea,’” Sherman reported Thursday on Twitter. “That resolve is weak, phony.”
And so, Sherman explained his anxieties to Pence.
“I raised two issues: No. Korea could smuggle nuke into U.S. rather than use ICBM. Could smuggle inside a bale of marijuana, and might sell nukes to Iran, which has billions of hard currency. Waiting for answers…”
I raised two issues: No. Korea could smuggle nuke into U.S. rather than use ICBM. Could smuggle inside a bale of marijuana….(1/2)
— Rep. Brad Sherman (@BradSherman) April 27, 2017
Sherman got answers, stat, but not from Pence — as far as we know.
No, Twitterworld liked Sherman’s idea — lots — but also mocked the lawmaker for what might one day be optioned as “Brad and Kumar go to the DMZ.”
@BradSherman What about invisibility cloaks? Of course a simple spell could take care of that. But a counter-spell would overturn it. DM to join my club.
— pourmecoffee (@pourmecoffee) April 27, 2017
@BradSherman Hi Rep. Sherman. I’m writing a story about people holding elected office despite having the IQ of a houseplant. May I use this tweet?
— Aaron ⭐️? (@AaronCampeau) April 27, 2017
@BradSherman Any idiot knows they would smuggle a nuke in a box marked “Acme!”
— Palmetto Progress (@PalmettoProgres) April 27, 2017
By Thursday’s end, Sherman tried to explain that he didn’t really think one could smuggle a nuke into the United States packed in weed, but that he was trying to make a point. “I don’t believe that NK is likely to send a bomb in weed,” he said. “People sneak things into the U.S. every day. Can’t rely solely on missile defense.”
Too late.
@BradSherman Likely? No. AWESOME plot for that “Rep. Chad Terman: American Superspy” novel you’ve been working on? Yes!
— Ben Hooper (@BenHooperWrites) April 28, 2017
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.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and the protests on college campuses.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
