A spokesman for President Donald Trump’s re-election campaign went on a Twitter tangent on Thursday, insisting that Democrats’ uproar over proposed federal cuts to the Special Olympics is phony because they’re pro-abortion. Matt Wolking, the newly appointed deputy director of communications for Trump’s 2020 campaign, accused Democrats of seeing “abortion as the cure for Down syndrome and other disabilities.” “The idea that **killing** children with disabilities is just fine but reducing taxpayer funding for a private charity that will still flourish without it is ‘cruel’ is demented. But that’s the Democrats’ position,” Wolking tweeted as part of a thread. “Their criticisms of [Education Secretary Betsy Devos] as ‘cruel’ are not sincere.”

I'm sure Democrats who see abortion as the cure for Down syndrome and other disabilities are sincerely concerned about kids having the chance to be in the Special Olympics — Matt Wolking (@MattWolking) March 28, 2019

Wolking was appointed this month to lead Trump’s “aggressive rapid response team,” which the campaign said will refute attacks and expose “the fake news media,” according to The Washington Times. He previously worked for Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.). On Capitol Hill on Tuesday, DeVos defended the Education Department’s proposal to eliminate federal funding for the Special Olympics, which provides year-round sports training and athletic competition for children and adults with intellectual disabilities. On Wednesday, after receiving intense backlash, DeVos released a statement saying the Special Olympics is a great enough organization to raise money without the federal government’s help. “There are dozens of worthy nonprofits that support students and adults with disabilities that don’t get a dime of federal grant money,” she added.

ASSOCIATED PRESS Education Secretary Betsy DeVos defended eliminating federal funding to the Special Olympics on Tuesday.