Since Donald Trump’s Twitter absence became permanent in January, Newsmax host Greg Kelly has seemingly stepped in to try to fill the void. Using a mixture of caps lock, scare quotes, and quippy insults aimed at liberals and “SWAMPY” Republicans, Kelly’s account has become a prime destination for conservative users longing for Trump tirades of yore. And like Trump, Kelly’s outbursts are drumming up controversy.
Over the weekend the conservative host—who alerted his followers last month to his potential loss of Twitter privileges at a spa by proclaiming, “THEYRE TAKING MY PHONE”—posted a pair of tweets that were quickly labeled racist. “Military life had its Perks, but it was also a major pain. I will tell you what took ‘the sting out of it’—that when I was flying around the Pacific Ocean off of ships, I knew there was a Secretary of Defense who was white, just like me! Made a big difference with ‘morale,’” Kelly wrote of his time serving in the U.S. Marines. In another tweet, he said that then president Bill Clinton’s identity as “a Caucasian male” made his military service “all worthwhile.” Kelly later deleted both tweets.
In an apparent attempt to clean up the mess he had made, Kelly wrote in a follow-up post: “Now the TRUTH: being a MARINE had nothing to do with RACE. It didn’t matter. It wasn’t ’a thing’—the EXPERIENCE brought us together, no matter what we were.” He also pulled the “but I have Black friends!” card, noting that the late David Dinkins, New York City’s first Black mayor, officiated his wedding in 2017.
“We understand a series of tweets were posted by Mr. Kelly today that, in their totality, indicated his opposition to racism,” Newsmax said in a statement to Mediaite. “We at Newsmax never countenance the posting of racist views or views that appeal to racists. We are currently reviewing the matter.”
The snafu was foreshadowed by Kelly himself, who made a telling comment about his Twitter use during a January episode of his podcast, as The Washington Post pointed out last month. “Twitter actually, quite frankly, sometimes brings out the worst in me,” he said. “And that’s another—that’s another conversation.” His bizarro tweets prove the point: While commenting on Hunter Biden’s drug use, in March, Kelly wrote, “SMOKING WEED (aka GRASS) is NOT a good idea. I’ve tried it (back in the day) and it was WORSE than anything that happened to HUNTER BIDEN. I ‘toked up’ with some buddies in Kentucky and woke up 4 days later in Nairobi, Kenya. With no idea what happened. DON’T DO DRUGS.” In another post, Kelly shared a photo of himself wearing moto cargo pants—which were widely ridiculed. “Everyone busting my CRACKERS over the ‘pants’,” he wrote. “The truth is, they’re BALMAIN (the most prestigious brand in PANTS)—my shoes are by Ferragamo. Basically, I’m a Sharp Dressed Man. Thank you!”
He’s also used the platform for more insidious purposes, tweeting last week in response to former HuffPost editor Lydia Polgreen’s definition of “critical race theory” as a buzzword weaponized by conservatives:
Kelly, whose now deleted tweets were supposedly a commentary on racism—at least according to Newsmax—appears to be on board with Republican efforts to ban teaching about systemic racism. As he recently said on air, “Critical race theory, I believe, is a dangerous theory being thrust upon kids all over the country.”
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