Actor Kal Penn is defending the White House arts and humanities commission’s decision to resign en masse, calling President Trump a “a tiny-fingered vulgarian who loves to tweet crazy things.”

Penn said Tuesday on CNN’s "New Day" that he and other members of the commission felt that they could send a stronger message to Trump after his comments on the violence at a Charlottesville, Va., white supremacist rally by resigning instead of trying to influence him.

The actor said the federal government “can’t get anything done” and that it was better for members of the commission to find ways to work outside of the Trump administration.

ADVERTISEMENT

“You’re dealing with a tiny-fingered vulgarian who loves to tweet crazy things as his way of getting policy done,” Penn said.

“Come on, we’re better than that.”

Penn was referring to comments made about Trump by the satirical Spy magazine, which often called Trump a "short-fingered vulgarian."

Penn and other members of the committee resigned Friday after Trump’s controversial comments blaming both white supremacists and those protesting them for the violence in Charlottesville, joining business leaders who quit Trump’s advisory council over his response.