Politico Editor-in-Chief John F. Harris drew Republicans’ ire for a Wednesday morning post that conservatives interpreted as him calling President Trump a white nationalist.

In response to an NBC News story titled, “White nationalist leader wants to ‘take over the GOP,” Harris responded, “Thought that job had been filled.”

Thought that job had been filled….. https://t.co/35GUSXGhWU — John F. Harris (@harrispolitico) October 17, 2018

Harris’s post raised the eyebrows of top Republicans, including RNC chairwoman Ronna McDaniel.

This offensive statement from the head of Politico is another example of why distrust in the media is at an all-time high. pic.twitter.com/cdGiFiKo4S — Ronna McDaniel (@GOPChairwoman) October 17, 2018

This from the editor in chief and co-founder of @Politico. Until this guy is gone from Politico, no Republicans should take calls from or help his reporters. He’s not hiding it — this is what he thinks of us. Despicable. pic.twitter.com/f4MVWrwRNd — Arthur Schwartz (@ArthurSchwartz) October 17, 2018

https://twitter.com/kevincorke/status/1052577985721700360

"There are professional standards of evidence, balance, and rhetorical restraint in Old Media that simply do not exist in New Media." — John Harris, 2006. How outdated does THAT sound? https://t.co/G0DhsIT9tF — Tim Graham (@TimJGraham) October 17, 2018

Harris responded by claiming he was misunderstood — that he made “a quip about the headline on the NBC piece” rather than an attack on any political figure. “[T]his could be interpreted as broad swipe rather than a quip about the headline on the NBC piece,” he wrote. “Sometimes wisecracks get lost in Twitter translation so appreciate the chance to clarify.”

A fair point @ArthurSchwartz , this could be interpreted as broad swipe rather than a quip about the headline on the NBC piece. Sometimes wisecracks get lost in Twitter translation so appreciate the chance to clarify. pic.twitter.com/wpsXiHUoPq — John F. Harris (@harrispolitico) October 17, 2018

Breitbart News reached out to Harris for clarification but did not receive an immediate response.

This isn’t the first time Harris has raised eyebrows for apparent left-wing sentiments. Last month, he wrote an op-ed titled, “Why God Is Laughing at Brett Kavanaugh.” The piece drew a false equivalence between the allegations against Brett Kavanaugh and Bill Clinton’s affairs.

Many Democrats and establishment media figured have smeared President Trump as a “white nationalist.”

Hillary Clinton said last year that Donald Trump’s Inauguration Day speech was a “cry from the white nationalist gut.”

– @HillaryClinton calls @realDonaldTrump Inauguration Speech – "a cry from the white nationalist gut" ὄ pic.twitter.com/qPhakc6I5n — Charlie Spiering (@charliespiering) September 10, 2017

Joining CNN’s Jim Acosta, MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough has also embraced this smear. Following Trump’s condemnation of violence on “both sides” of the white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia in August 2017, Scarborough said that Trump was now the president of “the white nationalist movement.”

“He has now officially become the president of the white national–not only of America but also of the white nationalist movement,” Scarborough said.