TN-Sen: Top Dem operative’s extremely vulgar, anti-Trump tweets take center stage in close race
Jul 31, 2018 4:36 pm
An operative who works for Tennessee Democrats has taken center-stage attention in the contentious U.S. Senate race between Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and former Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen (D).
What’s going on?
Mark Brown, who works for Tennessee Victory 2018 — an organization actively working to elect Bredesen — has come under fire for vulgar tweets he posted online in 2016 and 2017 directed at President Donald Trump and Trump supporters, according to The Washington Free Beacon.
Some of the now-deleted tweets said:
- On July 31, 2017: “Exactly, f*** reaching out to Trump voters. The idiots aren’t listening.”
- On Nov. 11, 2017 he tweeted at Trump: “ou (sic) are Putin’s b***h and a “f*****gMoron.”
- On Nov. 22, 2017: “Racist much, f***stick? #InsaneClownPresident.”
- On Aug. 27, 2017: “Under Trump, evangelicals show their true racist colors.”
- On Nov. 27, 2017: “F*** Mike Mulvaney and #F***Trump.”
The tweets are an issue because Bredesen recently accused Vice President Mike Pence of “name-calling” after he labeled Bredesen a “liberal” in a posting on Twitter.
Despite Brown posting the comments online prior to being hired by the state Democratic Party, Republicans are using the opportunity to pounce on Bredesen.
And they couldn’t come at a worse time for Bredesen, who is working hard to appeal to Tennesseans who are overwhelmingly supportive of Trump and the “Make America Great Again” agenda. Polling shows Bredesen is locked in a tight battle with Blackburn, one in which Bredesen cannot afford to alienate hardline Trump supporters.
Indeed, Bredesen has prior ties to Brown. According to the Tennessean, Brown worked as the legislative director for the Department of Human Services when Bredesen was governor.
A spokesperson for Bredesen’s campaign did not immediately return a request from TheBlaze for comment.
What did Brown say?
In a comment to the Tennessean, Brown characterized his vulgar tweets as “overheated rhetoric.”
“Last year, I got caught up in the overheated rhetoric of our current political climate and tweeted some things I shouldn’t have. I regret what I said and I apologize,” he said.
To be clear, Brown’s role with Tennessee Victory 2018 is “countering-messaging, not voter outreach,” he said.
What did the Tennessee GOP say?
Scott Golden, chairman for the Tennessee Republican Party, told the Free Beacon that Brown’s “hateful comments” are “reprehensible,” calling the Democratic operative a “professional Twitter troll.”
“Phony Phil Bredesen is complaining about the Vice President calling him out for what he is: a liberal. Meanwhile, professional Twitter troll and Tennessee Democratic Party spokesman Mark Brown has been doing Bredesen’s dirty work and expressing his party’s true sentiments about President Trump,” he said.
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