A Republican Senator in the US state of Arizona has come under fire for calling New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern "Lenin with hair".
Wendy Rogers shared a video on Twitter of Ardern speaking virtually to world leaders as part of the Summit for Democracy last week, where the Prime Minister talked about COVID-19 misinformation and why her Government had introduced New Zealand's public interest journalism fund.
"Lenin with hair," Rogers posted with the video.
Vladimir Lenin was a communist leader who commanded the Bolshevik revolution in 1917. The revolution cemented communism in Russia and the Soviet Union for the next 74 years.
Under Lenin's leadership, the Soviet government oversaw the 'Red Terror' - a campaign of widespread executions and arrests against so-called "enemies of the people".
"Effective leader. Jealously is embarrassing," one Twitter user responded to Rogers.
"No that's what we call a capable leader," another said.
"You know nothing about her," wrote another. "She is a better woman and a better protector of democracy than you'll ever know."
The Prime Minister's office has been contacted for a response to Rogers' remarks.
Rogers is a staunch ally of former US President Donald Trump, and has parroted his repeated false claims of a rigged 2020 election.
In September, she falsely said each state could "decertify" the election result, which was won by Democrat Joe Biden.
