Steven Cheung slams New Yorker writer for blaming National Guard attack on Trump: 'Shut the f**k up'
WASHINGTON, DC: Amid the rising political tensions after the shooting of two National Guard members on Wednesday, White House Communication Director Steven Cheung slammed a reporter who blamed President Donald Trump for the attack.
According to the reports, the reporter blamed the president instead of condemning the attack.
The reporter's comment and Steven Cheung's critique
This is so tragic, so unnecessary, these poor guardsmen should never have been deployed. I live in DC and watched as they had virtually nothing to do but pick up trash. It was for political show and at what a cost. https://t.co/ABkOHNHAvG
— Jane Mayer (@JaneMayerNYer) November 26, 2025
Jane Mayer, a staff writer at The New Yorker, on Thursday, November 27, wrote on X (formerly Twitter), “This is so tragic, so unnecessary, these poor guardsmen should never have been deployed. I live in DC and watched as they had virtually nothing to do but pick up trash. It was for political show and at what a cost.”
Jane, respectfully, shut the fuck up for trying to politicize this tragedy.
— Steven Cheung (@StevenCheung47) November 27, 2025
They were protecting DC and trying to make the nation’s capital safer.
People like you who engage in ghoulish behavior lose all credibility. Not like you had any to begin with. https://t.co/DzVX7Adg96
Cheung reposted the tweet, writing, “Jane, respectfully, shut the f**k up for trying to politicize this tragedy.”
“They were protecting DC and trying to make the nation’s capital safer. People like you who engage in ghoulish behavior lose all credibility. Not like you had any to begin with,” he said.
Afghan national behind the attack
After the attack, it was found out that an Afghan national named Rahmanullah Lakanwal was the one who ambushed two West Virginia National Guard members and shot them at close range in DC.
Lakanwal entered the US in September 2021 as part of former President Joe Biden’s 'Operation Allies Welcome'. He overstayed his visa and was in the US illegally at the time of the attack.
It was also revealed that Lakanwal worked for the CIA as a member of a partner force in Kandahar, Afghanistan.
The two guard members, Sarah Beckstrom and Andrew Wolfe, were in critical condition, and on Friday, Trump announced the death of 20-year-old Beckstrom.
Trump links Afghan arrivals to security risks
After the attack, Trump declared the shooting “a heinous assault … an act of evil, an act of hatred and an act of terror.”
In the video message, he stated that “every single alien who has entered our country from Afghanistan under Biden be re-examined.”
He further insisted, “We must take all necessary measures to ensure the removal of any alien from any country who does not belong here or add benefit to our country.”
“Based on best available information, the Department of Homeland Security is confident that the suspect in custody is a foreigner who entered our country from Afghanistan… He was flown in by the Biden administration in September 2021,” Trump announced.
He further claimed, “The last administration let in 20 million unknown foreigners from all over the world.”
