Gillibrand ‘Tired: Families’ tweet sparks pro-family firestorm

The tweet was an apparent play on the out-with-the-old, in-with-the-new “tired/wired” tweet meme format. But instead of Gillibrand, a mother of two, saying that families are tired in a figurative sense, she used the literal meaning to make the argument: Affordable child care and universal paid leave are needed because families are tired.

Many conservative and Republican commentators on Twitter reacted with outrage at Gillibrand appearing to say that families are out of style, either not understanding her play on the meme or choosing to focus on the figurative interpretation normally meant by the format.

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Doing so fits in with their larger argument that Democratic proposals such as President Joe Biden’s American Families Plan, a $1.8 trillion spending and tax credit package that includes subsidizing day care, could negatively affect families, such as by making stay-at-home parenting uneconomical. Gillibrand has lauded the American Families Pan, noting her own longtime push to make universal paid family leave the law.

“We need to defeat these people or they’ll destroy the only things worth having,” said J.D. Vance, an author and venture capitalist who is a possible Republican Ohio 2022 Senate candidate. Last week, Vance faced blowback for sending a tweet critical of the plan to subsidize child care, saying: “Spend money on parents, not corporate daycare.”

Donald Trump Jr. chimed in with a sarcastic response to Gillibrand: “Yea families suck… screw them…”

“I genuinely feel very sorry for Kirsten’s husband and children,” responded Steve Cortes, political commentator who worked on former President Donald Trump’s campaigns.

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Nearly three hours after sending the tweet, Gillibrand responded to the commentary surrounding her tweet, accusing critics of deliberately not getting her intention.

“Inspired: Spending less time deliberately misreading tweets and doing anything — literally anything — to help exhausted families,” she tweeted.