HAMTRAMCK, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – Hamtramck Mayor Amer Ghalib’s social media controversies, including posts about Jews and calling Saddam Hussein a martyr, have come up during his Senate confirmation hearing to be appointed as President Donald Trump’s ambassador to Kuwait.

Ghalib “liked” a Facebook comment in Arabic describing Jews as monkeys, according to the Middle East Forum, a Muslim watchdog agency that was started in 2006.

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The Middle East Forum also stated Ghalib liked a Facebook post in Arabic by another person that discussed blacks rioting. “This violence has shown their animalistic and inhuman instinct, and they can only be corrected under the law, force and police,” the post said.

Ghalib stated that he “liked” all posts just as an acknowledgment that he read the post and it wasn’t a sign of endorsement. Ghalib also said a lot of his social media posts were in Arabic and mistranslated. The Middle East Forum said it hired a professional linguist to translate Ghalib’s posts and also said it had the Michigan State University Translation Center confirm their accuracy.

Ghalib pointed to his response to the post was, “You can say that in your country but not in this country.”

The Oct. 23 hearing marked a sign the Make America Great Again movement is not a rubber stamp. Several GOP senators have been among the most critical of the Hamtramck mayor.

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) was one of the most vocal critics of Ghalib. The Detroit News reported that at least four Republicans won’t support Ghalib, which means he doesn’t have the majority of votes needed to advance out of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Ghalib didn’t respond to an email seeking comment.