The conservative magazine the Washington Examiner has stood firmly behind President Trump every step of the way. But an early morning tweet from the publication went a little off message. Specifically, the tweet alleges that Trump is “going to hell.”
The tweet, sent at 5:13am east coast time, didn’t mince words. Strangely, the tweet included a simple white image where a photo typically would be.
“Trump is going to hell,” the tweet started. “Anyone who ever read the bible can tell you where it stands on rich adulterers. The key to God’s forgiveness is repentance. Trump’s entire political career has been about the exact opposite of that. Also this paper is garbage for promoting “‘Trump and God’”
President Trump has been making his rhetoric even more incendiary over the past few weeks, as far right figures have perpetrated terrorist attacks on U.S. soil. The so-called MAGA Bomber, Cesar Altieri Sayoc Jr., sent pipe bombs to high profile Democrats and donors last month. And a man angry about the perceived threat of a migrant caravan traveling through Mexico killed 11 people at a synagogue in Pittsburgh. The shooter explicitly said that he wanted to kill all Jews.
And yet, President Trump keeps calling the press the “enemy of the people,” saying that journalists are responsible for the violence that’s being used against them.
Just last night, Trump stoked more fear with violent rhetoric against those on the left, claiming that antifa (the anti-fascist movement) is full of “bad people” who should be dealt with using the military and Bikers For Trump.
“These are bad people. These are people causing problems, and the press doesn’t want to talk about them,” Trump told a rally in Georgia last night.
The Examiner has traditionally been a pro-Trump publication, running articles slamming Democrats and favoring Trump’s authoritarian policies. Does this tweet mean that the Examiner was hacked or are they exploring a new editorial direction? The Examiner didn’t immediately respond to Gizmodo request for comment. Hell itself also did not respond to an inquiry by press time.
Update, 7:28am: It appears that the Examiner finally deleted the tweet, over two hours later. Still no word on whether Trump is actually going to hell, though.
Update, 8:07am: The Examiner also tweeted to say that they’d been hacked.