April Ryan and Lynne Patton traded barbs for days. (Screenshot/ Alex Wong/Getty Images)
A regional head of Housing and Urban Development in the Donald Trump administration has apologized for calling a White House correspondent “Ms. Piggy.” Lynne Patton manages a HUD office overseeing New York and New Jersey and her offending message to April Ryan has led to the public to call for her firing.
In a heated Twitter beef Wednesday, Jan. 24, Patton dismissed Ryan’s concerns over the death threats she’s received because of Trump’s war against media.
“As a conservative Black female who has publicly worked for & supported @realDonaldTrump, I’ve been getting death threats from fellow minorities on the left for the past 3 years — so welcome to the club. @AprilDRyan,” she tweeted responding to Ryan’s comments on CNN’s “Reliable Sources” Sunday, Jan. 21.
The back and forth continued through Wednesday, with Ryan, who previously beefed with Omarosa Manigault-Newman, tweeting in part, “You are not revelant [sic] and so desire to be” and the two continued throwing shade at one another. Patton claimed Ryan worked for a bankrupt outlet while Ryan called out Patton’s previous wedding planning experience, including working on Eric Trump’s nuptials.
But it was the tweet comparing Ryan to a Muppett that upped the ante.
“I hear #MissPiggys still on a rampage. Gee, I must’ve struck a nerve, @AprilDRyan,” she tweeted with the hashtag “BankruptBlogger.”
Despite Patton deleting the tweet and apologizing, Twitter users have continued to call for her resignation.
https://twitter.com/calvinstowell/status/956335761036578816
https://twitter.com/Alt_Spicerlies/status/956342764454674433
.@LynnePatton @LynnePattonHUD HUD is a critical federal agency with an important mission. Your Tweets demonstrate a lack of suitability for such work. @realDonaldTrump is to blame for naming someone so unqualified to the post. But, with respect, show some dignity and resign.
— Rev. Dr. Chuck Currie (@RevChuckCurrie) January 25, 2018
https://twitter.com/aravosis/status/956337732988567553
