Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut drew criticism on Friday after appearing upset that his appearance on CNN was purportedly bumped for a story about Kate Middleton having cancer.
Murphy, a Democrat, is known for his passionate defense of shooting victims. In this case, however, he said he was scheduled to discuss the healthcare system in the United States.
Journalist Yashar Ali reported earlier in the day that he had been "told by multiple sources that U.S. networks will broadcast a special report on Kate Middleton’s health at 2 PM Eastern time today."
"I can’t confirm if the broadcasts will share major news on the status of her health," he said Friday.
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Later, in a post that has now been deleted, Murphy reposted that message from Ali, and said, "Can confirm!"
"I was supposed to be on [CNN] at 2pm to talk about the anniversary of the Affordable Care Act and the millions of lives it has saved, but my interview has been bumped by this much more important topic."
Murphy's post appeared to be made shortly before the British Princess of Wales' appearance, which turned out to be her announcement of a cancer diagnosis. It was deleted soon after.
But the inference from Murphy's followers was that he was insulting the cancer patient.
"In other news, Chris Murphy has been diagnosed with terminal Main Character syndrome,'' wrote @_HMSP.
Another user, @SPimpernel22, simply wrote, "Chris Murphy sucks lol."
Ben McDonald of The Blaze said, "Only Chris Murphy could get me to defend the brits."
@Ithinkyouknow8 responded directly to Murphy in an attempt to translate the meaning of the lawmaker.
"'F--- your cancer, B----,' - Chris Murphy," the user wrote.
Conservative communicator Steve Guest also chimed in.
"PATHETIC," he wrote. "Of course Democrat Sen. Chris Murphy is trying to make the Kate Middleton news about himself."
Another user, @Oilfield Rando, said, "Let's all pray for [Murphy] in this difficult time."
Murphy's office didn't return requests for comment.