Whatever you can think of as the worst tweet that would be possible to send, it wouldn’t be as bad as what showed up on the National Republican Senatorial Committee’s Twitter feed this afternoon.
The NRSC’s been sending out a stream of criticism about Rep. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., and the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Everything was going according to plan until this tweet.
Already feeling bad for the @NRSC social media staffer who will never work again pic.twitter.com/WxC4pKJO75
— Jonathan Chait (@jonathanchait) March 8, 2016
Duckworth lost both of her legs in Iraq.
The tweet was deleted after about 10 minutes.
An NRSC aide said they acknowledge the mistake and noted that the tweet was deleted quickly.
“It would be great if reporters would pay as much attention to a deleted tweet as they should to Tammy Duckworth being sued by VA whistleblowers for ignoring claims of mistreatment and corruption,” NRSC communications director Andrea Bozek said in a statement.
Duckworth, who is challenging Republican Sen. Mark Kirk for his seat, called out the NRSC for the “offensive” tweet.
“Tasteless and dishonest, just like everything else to do with Mark Kirk’s flailing campaign. Tammy has made fighting for veterans her life’s work, and will continue to do so in the Senate,” Duckworth campaign spokesman Matt McGrath said.
The campaign was also quick to turn the tweet into a fundraising pitch.
“I can’t believe the National Republican Senatorial Committee just tweeted this,” an email signed by Afghanistan and Iraq combat veteran Brandon Friedman said. “Since losing both legs in service to our country, Tammy has dedicated her life’s work to standing up – on her camouflage and star-spangled prosthetic legs – for our nation’s Veterans. This is a disgraceful attack and Tammy needs our immediate support. Tell Mark Kirk and his fellow Republicans this language is unacceptable by rushing a contribution right now.”
