In a bizarre social media spat, Alabama Republican U.S. Senate candidate Mike Durant on Thursday ridiculed a postcard he said he received from Rick Wilson, a co-founder of the anti-Trump group The Lincoln Project.
But Wilson, responding on Twitter, said he never sent the postcard, the handwriting is not his and used graphic language to disparage Durant’s campaign.
And the back-and-forth continued with Durant, in response to Wilson’s response, posting on Twitter that Wilson indeed sent the postcard.
The episode comes as recent polls have indicated support for Durant has slipped with the May 24 Republican primary less than two weeks away.
Durant posted an image of the handwritten postcard on his campaign Facebook and Twitter accounts. On Twitter, he posted the image four times.
“Do you honestly believe aligning yourself with Trump is really such a hot idea,” the postcard begins.
It ends with, “Wise up, Pal. And remember – everything Trump touches dies.”
The signature, in printed handwriting, is signed by Rick Wilson, Lincoln Project. It was addressed to Durant at Pinnacle Solutions — the Huntsville defense firm started by Durant.
Durant’s campaign has been dogged by connections to the Lincoln Project, a political action committee borne out of opposition to Trump.
In recent days, Durant has attempted to distance himself from the group.
“I have never met this lunatic,” Durant said in Twitter and Facebooks posts, referring to Wilson.
In a Twitter post, Durant said the postcard was sent from Mexico and added, “We should finish the wall and once we do, he and the Lincoln Project should stay there.”
Printed on the postcard is a description of a sunset in Ixtapa on Mexico’s Pacific coast. But the postcard appears to be postmarked in Seattle, Wash., on May 4.
“Let’s be clear,” Wilson said at the start of a thread on Twitter in response to Durant’s tweets.
“I didn’t send that card to you, nor did I direct anyone else to, either. I haven’t been in Seattle in over a year, that’s not my handwriting and, most importantly, I don’t have a single f*** to give about you and haven’t bothered to follow your race.”
Wilson goes on to describe the postcard as a “trite and rather boring little stunt for a campaign that’s under fire, I will offer you a few notes. I get why you’d tell this little lie. You’re struggling. You’re flailing.”
Wilson concludes by saying, “But you know, I’m a generous and helpful guy behind my cruel and cutting exterior. So (Mike Durant), because of your play, I’m officially giving you My Complete and Total Endorsement.”
Wilson’s “endorsement” was written to mimic the manner in which former President Donald Trump typically writes his endorsements.
“Now watch what other campaigns do with that,” Wilson said. “Good luck!”
Durant’s response on Twitter: “Very rich. This after Rick Wilson attacked me earlier in the campaign for standing with President Trump. It is no surprise that when called on the carpet he has a different story about his reprehensible postcard.”
