They say the truth hurts.

And for many people reeling from a hurtful event or inflammatory accusations, the most common initial reaction is anger quickly followed by retribution.

So when European Council president, Donald Tusk, went so far as to wonder aloud if a “special place in hell” existed for politicians who promoted Brexit “without even a sketch of a plan”, it came as little surprise to see all those Brexiters he was aiming at jump on the fury bandwagon.

Pro-leave politicians such as the DUP’s Sammy Wilson were outraged by Tusk’s apparently unscripted comments, with Wilson dishing out equally inflammatory remarks, branding him a “devilish euro maniac”, while Tory MP Mark Francois said the British public wouldn’t “be bullied, even by Donald Tusk”.

For anyone who missed it, this is what Tusk said: “I've been wondering what that special place in hell looks like, for those who promoted Brexit, without even a sketch of a plan how to carry it out safely.”

According to an EU official, the outburst reflected Tusk’s “genuine, deep frustration with the mess that we are in”, and who could blame him, given that after almost two years of negotiations, we are now just six weeks away from leaving the EU without a deal and little prospect of one.

The process has indeed been a mess from the start. In fact, Tusk’s comments resonated with remainers around the country, giving a voice to so many of their frustrations too.

Frustrations about the likes of David Cameron, the then Prime Minister, who gambled the country to appease factions in his own party, giving the public a vote on an issue they were ill-informed to decide on; David Davis and Boris Johnson who promised only benefits to leaving the EU, such as £350million more for the NHS, despite knowing this was incorrect; and of course, the DUP who thought little of the implications for Northern Ireland – its people or its economy.

So much of the rhetoric surrounding the Brexit campaign has been exposed as untrue and Tusk was right; those who led us to where we are today have displayed – and continue to display – a cavalier attitude towards each and every one of our lives.

They have shouted about everything they don’t want, but have continuously failed to produce a viable plan for a future relationship with the EU. That is, one that doesn’t involve unicorns. Speaking that kind of truth, in such uncertain terms, has got to hurt.

And yet, regardless of the fact that many people agree with the sentiment, it was not a wise choice of words from someone in his position, at this stage of the process.

Not just because they came across as inflammatory and undiplomatic, but also because they gave Brexiters an ideal opportunity to cast Tusk – and the EU – as a bully.

In typical fashion, his statement was hijacked by eurospectics who insisted that it was an example of EU arrogance and demonstrated precisely why people in the UK are so keen to be freed from the shackles of Europe.

Wannabe conservative leader Jacob Rees-Mogg used his opportunity in an opinion piece in The Sun newspaper to give us all a lesson in highly skilled manipulation, by lambasting Tusk whilst simultaneously twisting facts to suit his narrative, regardless of the damage they might cause.

It was clear to me any many others that Tusk was criticising the politicians who campaigned to leave the EU, not the 17.4million people who voted in the referendum. He certainly did not call the voters “stupid” as Rees-Mogg accused in The Sun and yet sadly there are plenty of people in Britain who will believe his malevolent nonsense.

While many can see the truth in Tusk’s outburst and understand the frustration behind it, his words did something I’d guess he never intended, and that was to play right into the hands of Brexiters, the very people he wished to rebuke.