As Twitchy reported, Daniel W. Drezner of the Washington Post on Tuesday alleged in a tweet that Attorney General Jeff Sessions had described illegal aliens as “filth,” which was a “f**king embarrassing” thing for a U.S. official to say. Drezner soon learned that his tweet had caught on, but not for the reason he might have wanted: Sessions never even used the word “filth” in his speech.
On Wednesday, Drezner published an apology in the Washington Post, acknowledging that his original apology on Twitter was “insufficient given all the attention this received,” and he’s right: the original tweet, which is still online, is currently hovering just over 5,000 retweets.
Filth. He described illegal immigrants as "filth."
Whatever your views on immigration that's f**king embarrassing for a US official to say. https://t.co/sl5x5uLObK— Daniel W. Drezner (@dandrezner) April 11, 2017
The apology, meanwhile, has garnered around 150 retweets — not something under Drezner’s control, but a problem nonetheless.
It was good of Drezner to apologize at length in the Washington Post, although to get to the apology readers first had to slog through two paragraphs cementing his anti-Sessions credentials: “Full disclosure: The hard-working staff here at Spoiler Alerts does not like Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Not one little bit.” Shocker!
Whatever your views on Jeff Sessions, I need to point out that I got this tweet wrong. https://t.co/Z5s1CeHYsR https://t.co/mI8A9RDOtj
— Daniel W. Drezner (@dandrezner) April 12, 2017
“I need to point out that I got this tweet wrong” would have sufficed, but it beats deleting the original and pretending it was never written.
Recommended
No need to preface it. Just apologize.
— Jennifer Bossypants (@ajenable) April 12, 2017
https://twitter.com/mikemerc57/status/852138934796550145
https://twitter.com/instapundit/status/852142627663347713
https://twitter.com/mikemerc57/status/852143255034544128
"Damage done, narrative reinforced, waters muddied, partisan anger heightened, mission accomplished, hi5 Dan!" – every partisan Dem today.
— boomdudecom (@boomdudecom) April 12, 2017
https://twitter.com/christhompson82/status/852156806856138752
A Journalist actually steps up & admits a mistake rather than doubling down. Be great if Spicer were cut a little slack. He only 'misspoke'.
— saint by the sea (@stbythec) April 12, 2017
A rare and welcome admission in today's environment.
Thanks for admitting that.
— Ron Barker (@wrongnowshutup2) April 12, 2017
https://twitter.com/MrDavidAngelo/status/852168438327934978
Thank you for your honesty & ability to apologize. In this day & age, it truly is noteworthy & it is appreciated.?
— Bebe? (@lovinbebemocha) April 13, 2017
It's kinda hard to unrunover someone.
— steve kirkpatrick (@czarkirk) April 13, 2017
https://twitter.com/SeanInTheSky/status/852196147947024384
Did you notice the difference in re-tweets between the two? The sloppy reporting is out there never to be fully eradicated. Well done.
— Suzy (@scout_nj) April 13, 2017
Thank you for your apology. It shows you actually have class and morals unlike the MSM. But retweet doesn't get viewed. See the problem?
— J2TX AG (@Tx24J2) April 12, 2017
unfortunately all that believed it probably always will, despite the retraction
— LCoghlan (@lezleecog) April 12, 2017
maybe YOUR views of Jeff Sessions led to you getting this tweet wrong
— Dave (@dweav20) April 12, 2017
Lesson to be learned. When you're so hyped up to jump on every perceived slight, take a breath before you pull the trigger. Simple really.
— Ant Barclay (@KeithVerity) April 12, 2017
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Related:
'Typical': John Harwood sends out Cruz quote without full context; Updates with full quote after backlash https://t.co/QIiEiREf3Y
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) February 7, 2016