A Colorado physician is facing backlash on social media for displaying politically motivated statements disparaging President Donald Trump on the walls of his practice in Aurora, Colo., according to 9news.com.
Steven Chae, MD, is the sole owner of Family Practice of Aurora. He told 9news.com he considers himself a "political junkie" and has had political statements hung throughout his practice "ever since he can remember."
However, pictures of his office recently went viral and sparked outrage online. Among the photos was a picture of the practice's front desk area with the words "Morally bankrupt pile of crap in White House" and "For our country, for our children, fight this monster" displayed along the wall behind the front desk, the report states.
James Woodley, a former Republican candidate for state Senate who took the picture and posted it online, told 9news.com Dr. Chae's political statements were concerning because of his position in the community. He said he saw and took photos of the statements after visiting Dr. Chae's office with a friend whose child was Dr. Chae's patient.
"[I'm] just surprised that a business — any business, you know, let alone a doctor — would have not only political messaging but such hateful political messaging," Mr. Woodley said. "I believe everyone has a right to their opinion, it's just the manner in which it was done."
"It was clear that it was just derogatory toward the president in language that I would never teach my children to speak about anyone," he added.
Mr. Woodley's post had been shared nearly 7,000 times at the time 9news.com published its report.
Dr. Chae told 9news.com he should have been "a little more level-headed" before putting up the statements. However, he said the goal of those statements was not to disparage President Trump, but to motivate people to vote to induce change.
"There's a lot of fear among minorities, especially within the Hispanic community," Dr. Chae said. "I wanted to reach out. The way we address this — not necessarily fix but at least address — is by going out to vote. That was all my message was supposed to convey."
"I can see how some people who are on the other side of the aisle could be offended, so I decided, 'Hey, best thing to do is turn the temperature down a little bit, make it less personal, make it more issue-based,'" he added.
Dr. Chae said he does not believe the messages violate policies instituted by various medical associations, and therefore will not remove them. However, he said if he ever discovers that they come to violate the associations' policies, he will take them down, according to the report.
To access the full report, click here.