Jon Cooper came under fire for attacking Sarah Huckabee Sanders on social media on Thursday. But more than the content of his tirade, the politician was bombarded with heavy criticisms for using the wrong photo in his tweet.
The Chairman of The Democratic Coalition reportedly posted a picture of Busy Philipps which he thought was an old photo of Sarah Huckabee Sanders. According to Entertainment Tonight, the said image was a still-frame from NBC's "Freaks and Greeks" where the actress starred in.
Politician confuses actress for White House aide
"Sarah Huckabee Sanders even looked habitually pissed when she was a teenager," he captioned.
"I guess having [Gov. Mike Huckabee] as your dad does that to you."
The politician was immediately alerted for his mistake and immediately deleted the controversial post. That, however, did not stop Busy Philipps and her fans to attack Jon Cooper over the mistake.
My advice: Just because a Google search identifies an image as being a certain person, take that with a grain of salt! It could be wrong. 😲
— Jon Cooper (@joncoopertweets) September 15, 2017
He later addressed a commenter and admitted that he was looking for "teenage Sarah Huckabee Sanders" when the page suggested Busy Philipps' photo instead. Although many of his detractors continued to criticize him for failing to do a fact-check before venting out on social media, Jon Cooper refused to back down and went on to respond to them one by one.
And exactly how would you suggest "fact checking" a 20-year-old photo found through a Google search? I'd love to know for future reference.
— Jon Cooper (@joncoopertweets) September 15, 2017
Busy Philipps, on the other hand, called Jon Cooper's tweet a "fake news" and insisted that she does not resemble the press secretary. "I am never getting over this.
I am actually dead now," she wrote.
ALSO. Pick on a woman for the insane lies she tells. Not cause she looks pissed off while telling them. I love women who look pissed off.
— Busy Philipps (@Busyphilipps25) September 14, 2017
Jon Cooper's remarks against Sarah Huckabee Sanders came after the White House aide suggested that a journalist should be fired for attacking the U.S.
president on social media. She was referring to ESPN's Jemele Hill who expressed her "personal beliefs" on Donald Trump's leadership.
Donald Trump is a white supremacist who has largely surrounded himself w/ other white supremacists.
— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) September 11, 2017
Her online tirade against the POTUS earned mixed response from Donald Trump critics and detractors. Even her network's name was dragged in on the issue which prompted Jemele Hill to clarify her intention for making such comments.
So, to address the elephant in the room ... #Facts pic.twitter.com/RTrIDD87ut
— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) September 14, 2017
The internet calls for Sanders' dismissal from the White House
The African-American journalist, however, received outpouring of support from the public after Sarah Huckabee Sanders stated that what she did was a "fireable offense." In fact, the online community started the hashtag #FireSarah to call for the dismissal of the White House aide.
People from the internet thought the press secretary is using her position to threaten the American citizens from speaking up.
Sarah Sanders should be fired for using the White House podium to attack citizens-saying they should be fired-I say Trump should #FireSarah
— The Resistance (@Resistance_Feed) September 14, 2017
We the people of the United States of America don't appreciate #FireSarah Sanders using the bully pulpit the way that she is using it.
— Girly Girl (@whatifisaidit) September 14, 2017