Wis. mayor defiant after calling Obama ‘Muslim’

A Wisconsin mayor is not backing down after suggesting President Obama is a “Muslim” who has destroyed the “fabric of democracy.”

Superior Mayor Bruce Hagen said late Monday that he was exercising his freedom of speech by posting the controversial comment on Facebook.

{mosads}“I have huge respect for the office of the president, but no respect for the current administration,” he said, according to Fox News’s local affiliate.

“Do we still have freedom of speech in this country?” Hagen asked. “Sometimes I kind of forget.”

Hagen is under fire for a recent comment on an online photograph of first lady Michelle Obama.

“Unbelievable,” he wrote on the picture, according to Fox News’s local affiliate. “She and her Muslim partner have destroyed the fabric of democracy that was so very hard fought for.”

Fox News’s local affiliate said that pressure is now mounting against Hagen in Superior over the post. Five city councilors are demanding he either apologize or resign.

“I’m not saying he’s done anything criminal, but he’s certainly put his leadership capabilities in question,” said City Councilor Graham Garfield. 

“Quite simply, these are really inappropriate comments,” Garfield said, according to the local ABC affiliate. “How can we have a non-partisan elected mayor who has to work with elected officials, including the president’s office, making these comments?” 

“I’m absolutely shocked and dumbfounded that the mayor would say something so callous and untrue about the first lady,” Wisconsin State Rep. Nick Milroy (D) said Monday evening. “That’s not what Superior’s about. We’ve always been a community that is welcoming of all people.”