U.S. Ambassador to Qatar Dana Shell Smith caused quite a stir after she posted a tweet that appeared to criticize President Donald Trump and his government via Twitter on Wednesday, Doha News reported.
In her tweet, Smith, a career diplomat who began her Doha post in 2014, said that it was becoming “increasingly difficult” to explain U.S. democracy and institutions to others.
The post came in the wake of Trump's decision to fire FBI director James Comey after leading a criminal investigation into whether Trump's advisers "colluded with the Russian government to steer the outcome of the 2016 presidential election," The New York Times reported.
Smith's tweet was widely shared on the social media platform and while many supported her, she also faced backlash from a few Trump supporters.
Many supported Smith
But she also faced backlash with some calling for her resignation
Smith has since responded
In an apparent response to the backlash, Smith followed up her tweet with another on Thursday.
In it, she explained that while it has become increasingly difficult “to explain and defend” her nation’s political system at a time when “partisan acrimony is so high," there is still no greater country than the U.S.
Shortly after Trump was sworn in as president in January, he fired all U.S. ambassadors who were politically appointed by his predecessor Barack Obama, but Smith remained in her post, as she was not a political appointment.
At the time, the US Embassy in Qatar told Doha News that as such, Smith “looked forward to continuing her service to the United States as Ambassador to Qatar under the next Administration.”