MSNBC host Mika Brzezinski had to apologize for what some perceived to be a homophobic joke on Morning Joe Wednesday.

Brzezinski called Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was “wannabe dictator’s butt-boy.”

“I understand that Donald Trump doesn’t care, Heilemann makes a good point, he doesn’t care. But why doesn’t Mike Pompeo care right now?” Mika Brzezinski said of Pompeo’s response to a question about the killing of Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi.

She continued, “Are the pathetic deflections that we just heard when he appeared on Fox & Friends, is that a patriot speaking? Or a wannabe dictator’s butt-boy?”

Mika’s joke reflect the very long and bizarre obsession that many liberals have with calling conservatives gay as a way of bashing them. These jokes are not only incredibly lame and unfunny, they are innately homophobic, as the joke reflects the premise that being gay is a bad or humiliating thing to be.

The sophomoric “you’re gay” jokes have been specifically utilized against Sen. Lindsey Graham by masters of comedy like Kathy Griffin, Rosie O’Donnell and Jimmy Kimmel.

The Intercept’s Glenn Greenwald said, “Homophobic insults of the kind vomited out this morning by morningmika have become a completely common and acceptable component of anti-Trump discourse, starting from the endless Trump/Putin gay insinuations to trash like this.”

Homophobic insults of the kind vomited out this morning by @morningmika have become a completely common and acceptable component of anti-Trump discourse, starting from the endless Trump/Putin gay insinuations to trash like this. pic.twitter.com/ddorYI3AYV — Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) December 12, 2018

Brzezinski later apologized, saying that she had a “SUPER BAD choice of words.”

“I should have said ‘water boy’… like for football teams or something like that.. apologize to @SenatorDurbin too! SO SORRY!” she said.

Totally agree with you -SUPER BAD choice of words .. I should have said “water boy”… like for football teams or something like that.. apologize to @SenatorDurbin too! SO SORRY! https://t.co/zIqsGdK3Tk — Mika Brzezinski (@morningmika) December 12, 2018

Follow Justin Caruso on Twitter @justincaruso2