The official Twitter account for Walmart mocked Missouri Republican Sen. Josh Hawley after he announced Wednesday that he will object to the certification of the Electoral College vote on Jan. 6 — the first senator to make such a declaration.
“Go ahead. Get your 2 hour debate. #soreloser,” a tweet from the corporation read in reply to Hawley.
Daily Beast reporter Lachlan Markay was among one of the first in the press to pick up on the now-deleted tweet from Walmart.
— Lachlan Markay (@lachlan) December 30, 2020
“Thanks [Walmart] for your insulting condescension. Now that you’ve insulted 75 million Americans, will you at least apologize for using slave labor?” Hawley shot back via Twitter, adding, “Or maybe you’d like to apologize for the pathetic wages you pay your workers as you drive mom and pop stores out of business.”
Or maybe you’d like to apologize for the pathetic wages you pay your workers as you drive mom and pop stores out of business
— Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) December 30, 2020
Hawley has time and again focused his attention on small business and has been one of the most vocal Republican critics of massive corporations like Amazon, which Hawley has suggested is acting as a “monopoly.” The Republican has also been critical of the “Big Tech monopolists,” highlighting their concentrated power, continued censorship of conservative voices, and influence on 2020 presidential election.
“That insulting [Walmart] tweet to a sitting Republican senator (Josh Hawley) was perfectly telling: Corporate elites, and the people who do comms/messaging for them, fear and revile the common-good, national-conservative vision Hawley embodies,” commented New York Post op-ed editor Sohrab Ahmari.
Hawley notably “liked” the tweet.
That insulting @Walmart tweet to a sitting Republican senator (@HawleyMO) was perfectly telling: Corporate elites, and the people who do comms/messaging for them, fear and revile the common-good, national-conservative vision Hawley embodies.
— Sohrab Ahmari (@SohrabAhmari) December 30, 2020
Walmart replied to Hawley in a tweet later on Wednesday: “The tweet published earlier was mistakenly posted by a member of our social media team,” the reply said. “We deleted the post and have no intention of commenting on the subject of certifying the electoral college. We apologize to Senator Hawley for this error and any confusion about our position.”
The tweet published earlier was mistakenly posted by a member of our social media team. We deleted the post and have no intention of commenting on the subject of certifying the electoral college. We apologize to Senator Hawley for this error and any confusion about our position.
— Walmart Inc. (@WalmartInc) December 30, 2020
The apparently mistaken tweet from Walmart was in direct response to Hawley’s statement about his intention to object to the certification of the Electoral College vote next month.
“Following both the 2004 and 2016 elections, Democrats in Congress objected during the certification of electoral votes in order to raise concerns about election integrity. They were praised by Democratic leadership and the media when they did,” Hawley outlined Wednesday. “And they were entitled to do so. But now those of us concerned about the integrity of this election are entitled to do the same.”
“I cannot vote to certify the electoral college results on January 6 without raising the fact that some states, particularly Pennsylvania, failed to follow their own state election laws,” the Republican continued. “And I cannot vote to certify without pointing out the unprecedented effort of mega corporations, including Facebook and Twitter, to interfere in this election, in support of Joe Biden.”
“At the very least, Congress should investigate allegations of voter fraud and adopt measures to secure the integrity of our elections. But Congress has so far failed to act,” he asserted.
“For these reasons, I will follow the same practice Democrat members of Congress have in years past and object during the certification process on January 6 to raise these critical issues,” concluded Hawley.
Related: Hawley First Senator To Announce He’ll Object To Certification Of Electoral College Vote On Jan. 6