Senate GOP leader removes ‘woke trash’ from website after right-wing backlash

PoliticsSenate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., speaks to reporters following a weekly policy luncheon at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, July 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Allison Robbert)AP Photo/Allison RobbertBy Howard Koplowitz | hkoplowitz@al.comHours after being called out by the influential social media account Libs of TikTok, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., removed an honorific used by nonbinary people as an option when attempting to email his office.Thune is facing heat from the far-right and and conservative groups for his reluctance to bring President Donald Trump’s top priority, the SAVE America Act, to the Senate floor for a vote.On Friday, Libs of TikTok posted screenshots of the honorific options on Thune’s Senate website, which included Mx., used by nonbinary people and those who do not want to be identified by gender.“Wtf is this woke trash‚" the organization’s X account tweeted late Friday morning, tagging Thune’s X account in the post.A popular right-wing commentator piled on.“Humiliating,” commented right-wing influencer and podcaster Benny Johnson.By the afternoon, the Mx. option was removed from the senator’s website.AL.com could not independently verify that “Mx.” appeared on the website, but the senator’s site does not currently have the honorific as an option.Even though Thune changed the website, Libs of TikTok continued to attack the Senate majority leader.Chaya Raichick, founder of Libs of TikTok, is featured in the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Extremist Files.According to the SPLC, Raichick "helped revive in right-wing propaganda the anti-LGBTQ+ ‘groomer’ slur, which implies that all LGBTQ+ people are pedophiles. She spreads the anti-LGBTQ+ conspiracy theory that ‘groomers’ have infiltrated every social institution with the intent of ‘sexualizing’ children."Howard Koplowitz is AL.com's Breaking & Trending Reporter for afternoons and nights. He has been with AL.com since 2015 and has served in a variety of roles, ranging from coverage of Donald Trump's first...