Murphy defends ‘Awesome’ post on Iranian ships evading US blockade, says it was ‘sarcastic’

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Sen.Chris Murphy, D-Conn., said he was being sarcastic when he called reports that Iranian ships had slipped by a U.S.blockade “Awesome”in a post to X on Monday,responding to the news that as many as 26 vessels had avoided U.S.detection.

Murphy brushed off criticisms that he had celebrated shortcomings in President Donald Trump’s military strategy.

“It’s so unbelievably disingenuous.Obviously, all theseRepublicansknow that I was being sarcastic.They just don’t really want to actually have to answer for the fact that this war has gone off the rails,” Murphy said.“Republicans don’t want to talk about that, so they try to createfake outrage over sarcasm.“

Murphy’s defense of his phrasing highlights the tensionDemocrats have navigated sincethe U.S.first began hostilities with Tehran: pushing back on parts of the Trump administration’s Iran strategy without inadvertently sounding sympathetic of a geopolitical adversary.

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Sen.Chris Murphy, D-Conn., wants the Trump administration to explain its war with Iran. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

Like many Democrats, Murphy panned Trump’s decision tobomb Iranand, more recently, voiced criticisms of plans to impose a naval blockade on Iran in an attempt to shake Iranian control of theStrait of Hormuz,a key waterway for global oil shipping.

“Let’s talk about Trump’s insane plan to fix Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz: helping them close the Strait,”Murphy saidof the administration’s strategy earlier this month.

“He is compounding one mistake after another.”

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Fishing boats and cargo ships sailing in the Arabian Gulf near the United Arab Emirates

Fishing boats and cargo ships sail through the Arabian Gulf toward the Strait of Hormuz off the United Arab Emirates on March 27, 2026.(AP Photo)

GOP skeptics responding tohis post believe Murphy is celebrating the defeat of a strategy he thought was ill-advised to begin with.

“A sitting U.S.Senator is actively rooting for Iran.Crazy as hell.TRAITOR,” the Libs of TikTok, a popular conservative account, wrotein a postof its own.

�s political toll.

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Sen. Chris Murphy speaking at the 2025 Concordia Annual Summit in New York City

Sen.Chris Murphy speaks during the 2025 Concordia Annual Summit on Sept.24, 2025, in New York City.(Riccardo Savi/Getty Images for Concordia Annual Summit)

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“You’re talking about a war that’scost American taxpayers billionsof dollars that’s allowed for Iran to control the Strait,” Murphy said.“Over a dozen Americans have been killed.There doesn’t seem to beany endgame.”

Asked to comment on Murphy’s post, at least one other Senator declined to weigh in.

“I’m not familiar with that,” Sen.Tammy Baldwin, D-Wisc.

He was previously a reporter with World Magazine.