(Left) Lee Harvey Oswald, who assassinated JFK in 1963, served in the military beforehand (Right) Conservative commentator, Candace Owens
(Picture: AFP via Getty Images and Getty Images)Another day, and another political trolling for Republicans, after some were tricked into sharing an image of JFK assassin Lee Harvey Oswald on Memorial Day.
Congressman Matt Gaetz, Matt Schlapp, and Dinesh D’Souza all fell for the prank when journalist Ken Klippenstein asked them to retweet the photo off Oswald in military uniform.
Klippenstein requested they retweet a military portrait of who he said was his “grandpa” – but in actual fact it was Oswald, who shot JFK in 1963.
The tweet to Gaetz read: “Congressman, my grandpa's a big fan of yours and is a veteran, he would be thrilled if you could RT this photo of him for Memorial Day. Here he is as a young Private First Class.
“Happy Memorial Day!”
@mattgaetz Congressman, my grandpa's a big fan of yours and is a veteran, he would be thrilled if you could RT this photo of him for Memorial Day. Here he is as a young Private First Class.
— Ken Klippenstein (@kenklippenstein) May 31, 2021
Happy Memorial Day! 🇺🇸💪🗽🦅 pic.twitter.com/t2DDBOJzFR
Klippenstein, then sent similar tweets to Schlapp and D’Souza.
The Republicans took Klippenstein’s bait, as D’Souza retweeted the photo, along with Gaetz, who retweeted with an American Flag emoji.
Schlapp even replied to Klippenstein’s trolling, and wrote: “Wow @kenklippenstein it's my honor to retweet the photo of a veteran on a day we remember his fallen friends. God bless your grandfather."
All three soon realised what had happened and deleted any trace of their interaction... but not before eagle-eyed users screenshotted and reshared them.
Lee Harvey Oswald began to trend on Twitter and images of the deleted tweets went viral, after Beth Bourdon reshared them writing: “my god, it’s a trifecta.”
my god, it’s a trifecta pic.twitter.com/yYYJ2psK11
— beth (@bethbourdon) May 31, 2021
People shared their amusement at the lack of historic awareness between the three Republicans.
Pops on real quick to see that Lee Harvey Oswald is trending and why.,, pic.twitter.com/HYFBqch7DR
— Joy-Ann (Pro-Democracy) Reid 😷 (@JoyAnnReid) June 1, 2021
ken getting republicans to post lee harvey oswald never gets old
— Craig Bro Dude (@CraigSJ) May 31, 2021
[halo voice] double kill pic.twitter.com/vTI5NotaiZ
— jordan (@JordanUhl) May 31, 2021
However, conservative commentator, Candace Owens didn’t see the funny side.
"It is not 'political correctness' to have a soul and modicum of decency. Reminder: these men DIED – the majority of them on foreign soil – so you could be free," Owens tweeted at Klippenstein.
During a Twitter rant, she accused Klippenstein of photoshopping the military uniform onto Oswald.
“You do not photoshop murderers into their uniforms so you can have a laugh,” she said.
It is not “political correctness” to have a soul and a modicum of decency.
— Candace Owens (@RealCandaceO) May 31, 2021
Reminder: These men DIED— the majority of them on foreign soil—so that you could be free. You do not photoshop murderers into their uniforms so that you can have a laugh.
Like her conservative counterparts, it seems that Owens needs to check up on her history as the image is not photoshopped.
Before the JFK assassination, Oswald was a member of the US military in the Marine Corps, and so the photo Klippenstein tweeted is real.
Of course, people on Twitter weren’t going to let Owens get away with her faux pas and were quick to point her inaccuracy.
I can’t stop laughing about Candace Owens thinking lee Harvey Oswald was photoshopped into a uniform.
— Lauren Hough (@laurenthehough) June 1, 2021
Hold on, Candace Owens thinks Lee Harvey Oswald’s military photos are FAKE? pic.twitter.com/ADeIPqSsMS
— Andy Harris (@kinglaurent14) June 1, 2021
Candace Owens: “You do not photoshop murderers into their uniforms—”
— Jermaine (@JermaineWatkins) June 1, 2021
Twitter: “Lee Harvey Oswald was a Marine.”
Candace Owens: pic.twitter.com/FwKZlLPrBI
Candace Owens didn’t know Lee Harvey Oswald was a marine and that really sums up Republicans.
— Drew. (@drewm52) June 1, 2021
Klippenstein - who is known for his political trolling - revelled in Owens’ anger, and shared an exchange between them where he wrote: “"I think I made Candace Owens short circuit lmao.”
I think I made Candace Owens short circuit lmao pic.twitter.com/tHDCtcZ051
— Ken Klippenstein (@kenklippenstein) June 1, 2021
This is a great advertisement to think before you tweet... or at least read a history book.
