No one should have expected Democrats to like Trump’s speech, but even I didn’t expect the irrational ire expressed over Trump’s tribute to Senior Chief William “Ryan” Owens and his widow. After all, tributes to fallen American soldiers have long been a staple for state of the union/joint addresses for Presidents of both parties.
But one particular Tweeter, a former Hillary Clinton campaign volunteer and “Principle” of the Liberty Advisor Group named Dan Grilo, took it even farther:
@PolitiBunny @BearingTruth Oh I saved it. pic.twitter.com/ofvJweDQh5
— 💏Prolifeldy👪 (@Prolifeldy) March 1, 2017
@LibertyAdvisor How can you employ someone who disrespects a fallen hero's widow? What does that say about your company? #DanGrilo #Boycott
— YouveBeenTrumped (@Shelia_Kay) March 1, 2017
After receiving a tweetstorm of criticism, Grilo seemed to realize just how badly he had screwed up. First he set his Twitter account to private, then deleted it altogether. But by then the damage had been done.
Liberty Advisor Group at 8 AM this morning: "Wow, our social media mentions are through the roof! 8:01 AM: "Oh." #DanGrilo
— BattleSwarm (@BattleSwarmBlog) March 1, 2017
Oddly enough, Mr. Grilo’s employer didn’t take kindly to his criticism of a SEAL’s widow:
Last night during President Trump’s speech, a Liberty Advisor Group employee sent out an offensive and inappropriate tweet regarding the Gold Star family that was being rightly honored before Congress and the Nation. The personal views of this individual do not represent Liberty and we vigorously disavow them.
Although the message and subsequent apologies were sent from an individual’s personal account, and bore no connection to his work with Liberty, his comments were inconsistent with the Company’s values and the unyielding respect it has for the members of our Nation’s Armed Forces. Regardless of whether the comments in the tweet were intended to cause the hurt and anger that they ultimately generated, they were unacceptable to us, and the individual who issued the tweet is no longer affiliated with Liberty.
Liberty’s culture places a high value on the men and women of America’s military who fight to defend us and our families. We honor them. We want to express our sincere condolences to Mrs. Owens. We also apologize to all those who have served this nation, including those Liberty employees who have themselves served, and anyone else who was offended by these comments.
All in all, it was the biggest self-inflicted career wound for a snide Democrat since one Adam Smith got himself fired for harassing a Chick-Fil-A worker.
The moral of our story: Don’t do that.
Tags: Carryn Owens, Dan Grilo, Democrats, Donald Trump, Liberty Advisor Group, Military, Senior Chief Petty Officer William "Ryan" Owens