Washington think tank New America on Friday terminated terrorism analyst Michael Smith II, after he posted a tweet in which he mocked a Chinese-American accent on Twitter.
In a since-deleted tweet, Smith linked to a Quartz article where it was reported that the Chinese government took control of the Anbang Insurance Group, which includes ownership of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel and Residence in New York City.
Smith tweeted, “We know wheh you sreep, rouwund eye. And who you sreepy with!!!” It can be assumed Smith’s tweet says, “We know where you sleep, round eye. And who you sleep with.”
Less than three hours after the tweet was sent, New America announced that they had ended Smith’s fellowship with the think tank.
“Michael S Smith II’s fellowship with New America has been terminated following his use of inappropriate language that is incongruous with New America’s values,” the group tweeted Friday. “New America does not tolerate or done the use of racist language or racial conduct of any kind.”
Here is how HuffPost is reporting the story.
Mr. Smith's biography from New America (here) says that he co-founded a private national security consultancy called Kronos Advisory.
In recent years, Think Tank Watch has documented think tankers being fired for a whole host of reasons, including sexual misconduct, criticizing donors, conflicts of interest, fights over Donald Trump, espousing certain views about climate change, and lying on a resume.