David Crowley Revealed To Have Secret Twitter Account With Crude Messages
His campaign denies he authored worst messages. 'I would never say those things,' Crowley said.
David Crowley. Photo courtesy of Milwaukee County.
David Crowley has gone from the anointed Democrat on Saturday to the political doghouse on Wednesday.
Crowley, the Milwaukee County executive who relaunched his campaign for Wisconsin governor over the weekend with an endorsement from Gov. Tony Evers, was revealed to have a semi-anonymous social media account filled with crude posts about women, race and LGBTQ people.
NBC News first reported on the account Wednesday.
The X (formerly Twitter) account operated under the handle @No_pork_plz and the name “Dirt McGirk.” It was created in 2010 and remained active through 2014, when Crowley was 28 years old. He is now 40 years old.
Crowley’s campaign denied that he wrote the offensive posts, but confirmed that other posts on the account were his.
“David was one of many people who had access to this Twitter account more than a decade and a half ago,” a campaign spokesperson said. “He did not write or post the problematic content in question.”
The account was most active around Crowley’s birthday in 2010, with the poster following a timeline of a first-person account of celebrating a birthday on May 14, when Crowley turned 24.
At least one of the posts clearly identifies the poster as Crowley.
“Follow No_pork_plz for those who don’t know it’s DC aka David bka Dirty or black ass dude hahaha… just STFU and follow #reweet,” says one 2010 post.
The account’s biography is “A different side of me…”
“Ok don’t get offended by my tweets… They may seem a lil ou of character but lets face it… You don’t know me anyways *Jaeezy Laugh*,” says another.
“That’s just NASTY!!! I wouldn’t fuck her with YOUR dick!!!! #slapyourself,” says a May 25, 2010 post.
“Only n—-s like you have #gaythoughts LOL fuggin tambourine player LOL,” says the account to another user on May 29.
Newer posts referenced Crowley’s public Twitter account, @DavidCrowleyWI, including retweets from that account in 2014.
Most of the posts were mundane observations about work and daily life. Others were a bit different.
“I love kicking it with drunk women!!!!” one post said.
The campaign said the account was created by “10 to 12” people with the intent to promote clubs, but no such promotion exists. There also are no posts clearly identifying anyone else who used the account.
Crowley’s campaign acknowledged that he used the account to discuss his belief that he had fathered a child before learning that the baby was not his. He continues to raise the child, though she is not his biological daughter, as he first believed.
“David did post on the page about his paternity history, which he has publicly spoken about in the past,” the spokesperson said. “Bottom line: David strongly condemns the language used on the page and the people who know him recognize he would never say these things.”
Crowley issued a similar statement in response.
“The people who know me will be the first to tell you that I would never say these things,” Crowley said. “Bottom line: I strongly condemn the language used in these posts from a decade and a half ago.”
The revelation comes just days after Crowley reentered the Democratic gubernatorial primary.
Crowley suspended his campaign in early July and endorsed Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez, but reversed course after Rodriguez ended her campaign amid questions about its financial reports. Crowley formally relaunched his campaign Saturday at an event at 3rd Street Market Hall, where Evers endorsed him again.
The endorsement appeared to immediately establish Crowley as a leading Democratic candidate, rivaling Francesca Hong and Mandela Barnes.
The Democratic primary is Aug. 11.
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I’ve got reservations with Crowley’s candidacy for other reasons (he should stick to his day job and keep improving things in MKE County). But I’m also not going to get too angry at what a single dude in his mid-20s posted 12-16 years ago. This is a variable that Millenial-aged candidates are going to have to deal with that other generations did not, because their stupid comments were recorded on social media vs something they said in a bar or at the country or in a drunken phone message.
He seems to know that this was wrong and that he doesn’t stand for that garbage today, which is what I care about most. My only concern is the “Well, other guys had the account and it wasn’t me” initial reaction. Just own it and move on, David.
As Jake formerly of the LP said: “Just own it and move on, David”!
We don’t expect a candidate to represent the Second Coming (for Christians). We are all human, and digging deeply enough uncovers uncomfortable past things, but how we handle past issues demonstrates his maturity. The way he has demonstrated incredible leadership as County Executive and managing a billion dollar budget and fiscal chaos from previous administrations with a County Board of Supervisors who work only part time– That is an achievement that other candidates, including Hong, cannot embrace.
I agree that Crowley should stick to his day job.
Realistically, I suspect this will doom his campaign.
Another republican hit job
Finish one job first before you beg the citizens for their votes for a bigger one..