Calls Grow for Trump Official to Resign After Calling Reporter April Ryan ‘Miss Piggy’

#FIRELynnePatton

Wednesday evening a Trump official from the Dept. of Housing and Urban Development called well-known reporter April Ryan “Miss Piggy” after a short but heated interaction on Twitter.

This is the tweet Patton posted to her personal Twitter account, including a photo of Ryan, a CNN political analyst and the D.C., bureau chief for American Urban Radio Networks.

Lynne Patton first made headlines last year when she was hired by Secretary Ben Carson to head up one of HUD’s largest regions, encompassing New York and New Jersey. Reports made clear she had no previous relevant experience, but “began working for Trump’s son Eric in 2009 as the vice president of his foundation and as his primary aide,” The Washington Post reported in August. 

“She was promoted in 2012 to be the Trump family’s senior aide and chief of staff, serving as the principal contact between the family members and all corporate partners, heads of state and high-end donors. Specifically, she worked for the Trump children, Donald Jr., Tiffany, Ivanka and Eric and his wife, Lara.”

Patton’s job at HUD pays $161,900 a year.

36 minutes after posting her attack on Ryan, Patton deleted her tweet and posted this apology, which apparently includes a photo of her speaking at the 2016 RNC convention:

Ironically, Patton’s bio on her official government HUD Twitter account reads: “Working across the aisle to advance smarter policies, less regulation, increased funding, stricter inspections, more preservation & basic common sense in NY/NJ.”

Also ironically, that “working across the aisle” bit is fantasy:

Patton may have deleted her “Miss Piggy” tweet but waited over an hour to delete the ones she posted before it. NCRM had already taken screenshots of them:

But her apology is not being accepted, at least not by many on Twitter. Calls are growing for Patton to resign – or be fired. There’s also a #FIRELynnePatton hashtag.