Rep. Justin Amash, R-Mich., took Arizona Republican John McCain to task on Twitter on Monday, calling out the former White House hopeful for an off-color comment comparing Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to a monkey.

“So Ahmadinejad wants to be first Iranian in space — wasn’t he just there last week? ‘Iran launches monkey into space’ https://news.yahoo.com/iran-launches-monkey-space-showing-missile-progress-003037176.html …” McCain shared with his 1.8 million Twitter followers. He hedged his bets a few seconds later with a quickie backpedal, stating, “lighten up folks, can’t everyone take a joke?”

Amash initially broadcast just a flabbergasted “whoa,” but he eventually decided to call his GOP colleague on the carpet.

“Maybe you should wisen up & not make racist jokes. “@SenJohnMcCain: Re: Iran space tweet — lighten up folks, can’t everyone take a joke?” he warned.

Other tweeters were far less forgiving, peppering McCain with critiques ranging from “Your integrity and decency miss you, it seems they haven’t seen you in ages” to “You have poor taste in jokes. See: Sarah Palin.”

This is hardly new territory for McCain.

The gruff lawmaker was most recently accused of being a racist and sexist for opposing former secretary of State nominee Susan E. Rice, and he faced media scrutiny for poor word choices during his 2008 presidential campaign: