Rep. Keith Ellison (D., Minn.) on Sunday deleted a tweet that had accidentally reflected poorly on Obamacare. The tweet was responding to a GoFundMe page that was raising money for medical bills of a victim in Friday's Portland, Ore. train attack.
A man with a history of hateful comments stabbed and killed two people on a Portland commuter train after they tried to stop him from harassing Muslim women. A third victim was taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries, but survived.
A Portland man set up the GoFundMe page to help pay for the third victim's medical bills. In only two days, funders raised nearly $250,000 to help 21-year-old Micah Fletcher pay for what is expected to be a lengthy recovery process.
Ellison saw the story, and decided to share it with a political twist. "Our healthcare system is so cruel, one of the heroes of the Portland stabbing has to crowdfund his lifesaving medical care," he tweeted.
As more than a few fellow Twitter users pointed out, the current healthcare system was set up by President Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act, legislation that Ellison supported. While Ellison has been an outspoken critic of President Donald Trump's proposed healthcare reform, that bill hasn't passed the Senate yet.
— Stephen Miller (@redsteeze) May 28, 2017
Obamacare is of course, the law of the land. https://t.co/S23khRFMRk
— Bryan McGrath (@ConsWahoo) May 28, 2017
I thought you guys fixed that. https://t.co/5QF0WJl6nD
— Jim Treacher (@jtLOL) May 28, 2017
Didn't Obamacare take care of this? Or is there a provision that says it doesn't cover attacks by radical leftist Stein/Sanders supporters? https://t.co/Fnv8iCQnJd
— Derek Hunter (@derekahunter) May 28, 2017
Impossible.
The Affordable Care Act, which required everyone to purchase insurance by law, fixed our healthcare system. Remember? https://t.co/xFESmDdngJ— Chad Felix Greene (@chadfelixg) May 28, 2017
The tweet was eventually deleted the same day, which of course prompted a new round of mockery.
Hey @keithellison! Why did you delete this tweet? Was it the moment you realized we are still under Obamacare? pic.twitter.com/YsCaoU4AaK
— Nat Shupe (@NatShupe) May 30, 2017
You're welcome, @keithellison. pic.twitter.com/8tb8BIBmyH
— Jim Treacher (@jtLOL) May 30, 2017