A local newspaper revealed that Republican Senator Mike Lee of Utah holds an alternative Twitter account called “BasedMikeLee”, which his office called his “personal account”.
A source close to Mr Lee confirmed to The Salt Lake Tribune that he operates the Twitter account.
The paper first took notice of the account after Mr Lee’s personal Facebook account linked to a thread from the @BasedMikeLee account regarding the FBI’s search of Mr Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida. Mr Lee said that he had questions as a “former federal prosecutor, and current member of the Senate Judiciary Committee”.
The account includes many snarky and snide comments, The Verge reported, such as him mocking Prince Harry’s address at the United Nations.
When conservative social media personality Benny Johnson put out a call for Mr Lee to rack up 1,000 followers, Mr Lee sent out a Gen Z-inspired response: “This account is no cap — bussin, forreal forreal”.
The account bears similarities to that of his fellow Utah Senator Mitt Romney, who ran an alternate account under the pseudonym Pierre Delecto, though Mr Lee apparently made no effort to conceal his identity.
“I’m taller than @RandPaul,” one tweet reads, as a snide comment on his fellow conservative Republican Senator who hails from Kentucky.
Mr Lee is up for reelection this year and is facing independent candidate Evan McMullin. He is also one of Mr Trump’s most prominent defenders in the United States Senate.
