AP deletes controversial tweet on George H.W. Bush’s death

“We’ve deleted a tweet and revised a story on the death of President George H.W. Bush because the tweet and the opening of the story referenced his 1992 electoral defeat and omitted his WWII service,” AP said.

Bush died late Friday at the age of 94 at his home in Houston. Soon afterwards, the AP promoted its write up on his death with a series of tweets.

One of them read: “George H.W. Bush, a patrician New Englander whose presidency soared with the coalition victory over Iraq in Kuwait, but then plummeted in the throes of a weak economy that led voters to turn him out of office after a single term, has died. He was 94.”

The tweet was met with fierce disapproval, particularly from conservative figures, and was subsequently “ratioed,” in which the number of comments vastly outnumbered retweets and “likes” — a sign of widespread negative reaction.

For instance, former Alaska Gov. and vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin tweeted, “The AP Issues The CRUMMIEST Tweet About George H.W. Bush’s Passing.”

Some political and media figures remained unhappy with the AP even after they deleted the tweet.

“Oh, @ap — You deleted your unhinged tweet and ‘story’ on President Bush’s passing because it was impossible to tell the difference between your “news” coverage & bottom-of-the-barrel partisan sniping,” tweeted conservative columnist Michelle Malkin.

Marjory Stoneman Douglas survivor Kyle Kashuv, who is now director of High-School outreach for Turning Point USA, tweeted, “You’re a joke” at the AP.