Ex-State Department Official Mocked For Wildly Misinterpreting Christmas Display

A former State Department official in the Trump administration tried to muster outrage at The Washington Post ’s holiday display and it backfired spectacularly.

In a post on X Thursday, Gabriel Noronha put wild spin on a photo of the newspaper’s spires adorned in red and green.

“On the last night of Hanukkah, the Washington Post building appears to be lit up in the colors of the Palestinian flag,” Noronha wrote in the now-deleted entry that a HuffPost screengrab has preserved:

Noronha was quickly informed that the annual display was for Christmas. A correction later appeared on the tweet.

Noronha appeared to try to wriggle out of embarrassment by awkwardly polling X users if The Post was more likely “paying homage” to “Christmas or Hamas?” 

One user replied with a poll asking users if Noronha was an imbecile.

“I really hope Christmas v Hamas is the new blue v gold dress debate. It’s the culture war we deserve in 2023,” Noronha joked in what seemed to be another walk-back attempt, now deleted.

Noronha, who served as an adviser on Iran during the Trump administration and was fired after he said Trump was responsible for the Capitol attack on Jan. 6, 2021, still couldn’t avoid a Yule tide of mockery.