CNN correspondent and political analyst April Ryan came to the defense of former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick during his Twitter exchange this week with former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer. 

Kaepernick sent a tweet Saturday criticizing the airstrike that killed senior Iranian General Qasem Soleimani and blasted America’s imperialism efforts across the globe.


“There is nothing new about American terrorist attacks against Black and Brown people for the expansion of American imperialism,” the professional football player turned activist tweeted. “America has always sanctioned and besieged Black and Brown bodies both at home and abroad.”

Kaepernick's message instigated Spicer to quote overused Republican talking points that link criticisms of the attack with defending the enemy. 

Ryan almost immediately jumped to the quarterback's defense, pointing out the consistent inaccuracies of Spicer's argument now and in his former job.

“SHUT UP YOU LIAR!” she tweeted back at the former press secretary. “You are still lying and lied on @Kaepernick7 from that White House Podium! He said black and brown people! Can you say distraction @seanspicer Wag the dog again!”

The phrase "wag the dog" is often used to refer to a situation when something of lower significance is used to divert attention away from something of greater significance. For example, many have concluded that President Trump's Iranian strike was a way to distract from his current impeachment trial, which can easily fall under the "wag the dog" umbrella. 

Spicer never responded to Ryan's clapback, but instead, he turned his attention to Kaepernick's lead sponsor, Nike, by sending them a tweet simply asking the multi-billion dollar corporation, "Any comment?"

Ryan and Spicer have had many heated exchanges during their time on opposite sides of the White House podium, with Ryan frequently probing for information on the president's Russian connections. 

April D. RyanColin-KaepernickIranian-missile-attackSean SpicerTwitter-Feud