Gov. Tim Walz, who served in the military, told reporters Tuesday that he was “totally appalled” by a DFL staffer’s recent tweet calling the new USS Minneapolis-St. Paul a “murder boat.”
As The Minnesota Sun reported Monday, DFL Deputy Communications Director William Davis wrote on Twitter that he thought it was “gross” that the U.S. Navy was “using the name of our fine cities for a murder boat.”
Several local Republican lawmakers and Republican Party Chairwoman Jennifer Carnahan quickly called on the DFL to apologize for the comment.
“Our men and women in uniform dedicate their lives to this great nation, give every day to defend the freedom and liberties of all Americans, and it is disappointing for anyone to minimize that. For anyone to refer to our military’s action as ‘murder’ is abhorrent—especially when that someone is a mouthpiece for the Minnesota DFL,” Carnahan said in a statement.
In October 2018, the same staffer was placed on suspension for a week after saying that Republicans should be sent “to the guillotines.”
While speaking with reporters Tuesday morning, Walz said that he was “totally appalled” by Davis’ latest comment.
“Certainly, the disrespect shown is beyond the pale,” he said, according to MPR. “I don’t know who the communication person is. I would certainly hope over at the DFL they take appropriate response to this because there’s no place for that.”
DFL Chairman Ken Martin released a statement later Tuesday saying that Davis “will no longer be engaging in public-facing communications on behalf of our party.”
“I would like to offer my sincere apologies for the tweet sent by one of our employees,” Martin said. “It was unacceptable and does not reflect my own feelings or those of the Minnesota DFL. The staffer who sent the tweet has apologized and deleted his Twitter account.”
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Anthony Gockowski is managing editor of Battleground State News, The Ohio Star, and The Minnesota Sun. Follow Anthony on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
[…] As The Minnesota Sun reported last week, DFL staffer William Davis was removed from his role as deputy communications director after calling the new USS Minneapolis-St. Paul a “murder boat.” Gov. Tim Walz, who served in the military, said he was “totally appalled” by the comment and called on the DFL to “take appropriate response.” […]
[…] As The Minnesota Sun reported last week, DFL staffer William Davis was removed from his role as deputy communications director after calling the new USS Minneapolis-St. Paul a “murder boat.” Gov. Tim Walz, who served in the military, said he was “totally appalled” by the comment and called on the DFL to “take appropriate response.” […]