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A campaign Twitter account for Governor Glenn Youngkin attacked a teenager on Saturday who was tweeting about an article that reflected negatively on the governor’s administration. The tweet from the campaign account was eventually deleted, but the teenager’s mother responded along with other prominent Democrats from across the commonwealth.
“The historian tasked with teaching about slavery at the Virginia Governors Mansion just resigned after finding the Youngkins converted her classroom into a family room - and emptied her office,” tweeted Ethan Lynne, a high school student from Hanover County who is a vocal Democratic voice on social media. (The story was later updated to clarify that the conversion to a family room has not actually happened.)
The Youngkin-Team Twitter account then responded with a photo of Lynne and former Governor Ralph Northam side-by-side with the racist photo from Northam’s yearbook. “Here’s a picture of Ethan with a man that had a Blackface/KKK photo in his yearbook,” the now-deleted tweet said.
The pushback on Twitter was quick and “Youngkin” was trending nationally into Sunday afternoon. “An official account of [Governor Youngkin] is attacking a child,” said Del. Mike Mullin (D). “A grown man bullying a kid. I don't even think Trump did that.”
Ethan’s mother, Karen Lynne, told Virginia Scope on Sunday afternoon that she has not heard anything from the Youngkin administration about the tweet, but she says she would like an apology. “We’ve taught our kids to admit when they are wrong and apologize for it - I would expect no less of our governor.”
The Youngkin administration has not responded to requests for comment at the time this article was published. Matt Wolking, a former Youngkin campaign staffer and current Axiom employee provided a statement to VPM News Sunday morning. “It was brought to attention that this Democrat Party official repeatedly elevated by Senator Louise Lucas as a source of official Democrat Party communications is actually a minor, so the tweet was removed.”
Lynne says that his DPVA internship ended in December and he is currently an intern for state Sen. Scott Surovell (D). He has never been paid for his work, he also noted.
Lynee issued his own statement Sunday morning. “In school, we are taught how to spot bullying, and their tweet last night, perfectly fit that description,” he tweeted. “It is disgusting, disturbing, and unbecoming of the commonwealth to see the governor and his office stoop this low, especially on a public platform.”
Republicans across the commonwealth are perplexed by the tweet.
“I thought the whole reason we were fighting to win elections was so that we would set a higher standard,” said Shaun Kenney, a conservative writer and former executive director at the Republican Party of Virginia. “TMZ-style commentary isn’t precisely what we expect out of the office of the governor.”
Youngkin hasn’t had the best week in the news cycle with the ruling coming down on Friday putting a temporary stop to his second executive order that makes masks optional in school districts across Virginia. A video also went viral of a woman yelling “read the room” at the governor while he was at an event inside of a grocery store in Northern Virginia without a mask.
Richard Meagher, a professor of political science at Randolph Macon College says that this latest exchange is reflective of Youngkin’s struggles in his early days in office, but he also points out that Twitter and real life are not the same. “We should remember that Twitter is a very small community, and online anger at the governor on this one platform is not reflective of his support in general,” Meagher said in a statement Sunday. “Still, the attack on a teenage Democratic activist, as well as ham-fisted attempts to defend it, are reflective of the Governor's broader struggles in his first weeks in office. From court challenges and lawsuits to PR gaffes, we should not be surprised that an inexperienced politician is having some trouble finding his way.”
Lynne’s mother loosely quoted John Lewis while talking about her son, saying he is an “ordinary kid with an extraordinary vision. We are proud of him for standing up for what he believes in, getting in the ‘good’ kind of trouble and speaking out against bullies.”
