Longtime MAGA congressman Mike Lee should keep this in the draft.
On Sunday afternoon, the 54-year-old Utah senator shared a photo of a masked Mexican drug cartel member on
“Cartel killers wear masks,” Lee wrote on his personal @BasedMikeLee account. “The left is not complaining.”
Screenshot of Sen. Mike Lee’s X post before it was deleted. / @knightryder_65 by X
However, the senator quickly deleted his post after several prominent Democrats responded, noting that Lee’s argument was unintentionally counterproductive.
“Yes. Cartel killers wear masks. Here’s why ICE shouldn’t be wearing masks,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer wrote.
The Senate minority leader criticized Lee’s remarks. /Sahil Kapoor/X
“Oh, dear Mike,” wrote Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy. “I really can’t make our argument better than you can. The bad guys wear masks. The good guys don’t.”
Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy said he
Sen. Brian Schatz of Hawaii responded: “Mike, I want ICE to be held to the same standards as local police departments, not the same standards as cartel killers.”
Hawaii congressmen echoed Lee’s comments. /Sahil Kapoor/X
By Monday, Lee’s post was no longer available on the site. It’s unclear exactly when the Utah congressman deleted the post, but it was shared long enough to cause considerable backlash.
Lee making polarizing comments on social media that he later deleted is nothing new.
After Democratic Minnesota Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband were assassinated in their home by Trump voter Vance Boelter in June 2025, the Republican congressman tweeted and deleted incredible accusations blaming liberals for her death.
Sen. Mike Lee sought to portray attacks on Minnesota politicians as emblematic of left-wing violence. /Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images
In a since-deleted post, Lee called the killings a “Nightmare on Waltz Street,” a misspelling that sought to pin the blame on Tim Walz, the state’s Democratic governor and a staunch opponent of the Trump administration.
In another since-deleted post, Lee said, “This is what happens when Marxists don’t get their way.”
Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman, a Democrat, was killed in June by a gunman who also targeted other Democrats and pro-life advocates. /Glenn Stubb/Star Tribune/Getty Images
MS NOW host Lawrence O’Donnell said the senator was “not doing well” after making comments about the shooting deaths of Holtman and her husband.
“Mike Lee seemed to be having a painful mental battle with who he was as a person,” said O’Donnell, 74. Laurence O’Donnell’s last words last year.
Laurence O’Donnell says Mike Leigh
“Tweeting 100 times a day is not healthy,” he continued, referring to the avid use of social media by members of Congress reported by The Salt Lake Tribune. “No U.S. senator who is truly doing their job as a senator has the time to tweet 100 times a day, or even 10 tweets a day.”
Although Lee deleted his post about Holtman’s assassination, the Utah senator never formally apologized for his comments.
