Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., remarked on Tuesday that he probably “should give up on sarcasm,” following backlash over his one-word reaction to reports that ships linked to Iran had bypassed a U.S. naval blockade.
On Monday, Murphy responded to an X post featuring a news article from Lloyd’s List. The report stated that at least 26 Iran-linked vessels had transited past the U.S. blockade, despite claims from Washington that it had successfully forced ships bound for the country to turn around.
Murphy replied to the report with a single word: “Awesome.”
The report, which cited data tracking tanker movements tied to Iranian trade, quickly became a flashpoint. Critics immediately accused Murphy of undermining the American war effort and cheering for a breach of U.S. lines.
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“OK Twitter, I can’t believe I need to clarify this, but obviously Trump’s bungled mismanagement of this war is not ‘awesome’,” Murphy responded in a follow-up post. “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.’”
On Tuesday, Murphy further clarified his position to Fox News.
“Twitter has become kind of a cesspool,” he said, referring to the platform X. “I probably should give up on sarcasm on Twitter. But sarcasm is not something I guess that’s allowed on Twitter any longer.”
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He reiterated that President Donald Trump‘s handling of the war has been “bungled” and “mismanaged,” and urged that the conflict be ended as quickly as possible.
The White House was quick to strike back. In a statement, the White House Rapid Response account on X accused Murphy of rooting for the opposition.
“You’re a loser, Chris. You were literally cheering for the enemy—gleefully regurgitating Iranian propaganda to undermine your own country’s interests,” the statement read. “It’s an insult to the American heroes very effectively enforcing the blockade. Moron.”
The naval blockade is primarily enforced by U.S. naval and air power in the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea. Its strategic goal is to intercept vessels after they clear the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most critical shipping points.
Fox News Chief foreign correspondent Trey Yingst said the U.S. is allowing any vessel passing through the area to make their way to its final destination, as long as it isn’t coming from Iranian port.
“There were some reports overnight indicating that 26 vessels from Iran’s shadow fleet were able to make it past the U.S. Blockade. There is no evidence of that, and despite what one Democratic senator talked about, there is a concerted effort by the United State to ensure that any vessels that coming from Iranian ports are turned around,” Yingst told “Fox & Friends” on Tuesday, while referring to Murphy.
He said reports about the ships bypassing the U.S. blockade were Iranian “propaganda.”
“And the shadow fleet that the senator is talking about is used to directly fund Iranian proxies across the Middle East, including Hamas, the Houthis and Hezbollah, who are directly responsible for killing US citizens,” he said. “And so the shadow of fleet is a very serious problem. It is not getting past the US blockade, according to all reports and information that we have from the region.“
Murphy has repeatedly argued that President Trump bypassed Congress when the initial strikes against Iran began in February.
In March 2026, he introduced a War Powers Resolution to force the removal of U.S. forces from hostilities against Iran that had not been authorized by Congress. The measure ultimately failed in a near party-line vote.