Trump ambassador gripes about X bullying after bizarre pronoun mix-up: ‘It was NOT AI’

Mike Huckabee, the U.S. ambassador to Israel, confused onlookers Thursday with a bizarre message referring to ousted Fox News host Maria Bartiromo as “him/ her,” and later that same night into Friday morning scrambled to explain the odd gaffe.

Fox News abruptly parted ways with Bartiromo Thursday, sparking a disappointed reaction from President Donald Trump. In a social media post on Thursday, Huckabee wrote that it was “so sad to hear,” and that “it was an honor to work with him/ her.”

Huckabee’s odd post immediately sparked confusion among critics, and Huckabee quickly addressed the matter, first blaming the gaffe on “typing while riding in vehicle on bumpy street.” Early Friday morning, Huckabee apparently felt compelled to offer another explanation for his bizarre social media post.

“Amazing what X followers notice!” Huckabee wrote early Friday morning. “I/me sent/posted X/Twitter abt my friend/fmr colleague Maria Bartiromo it was NOT AI-but post read him/her (auto-type?) & I/me was in car/vehicle on bad/bumpy st. The error/mistake totally me/mine. The message is that Maria Bartiromo is terrific person/professional!”

Huckabee’s second explanation for his initial gaffe similarly left onlookers confused.

Huckabee came under fire last week after ignoring a brutal attack on an American news crew in Israel, and has also faced scrutiny for remarks that appear to endorse the idea of “Greater Israel,” a reference to the territorial aspirations of some Israelis to significantly expand the nation’s borders.

In February, Huckabee ignited an international firestorm after telling conservative media figure Tucker Carlson that he believed it “would be fine” if Israel expanded its territory to include what Carlson called “basically the entire Middle East,” including Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and sizable portions of Saudi Arabia and Iraq.