In a radio address on Tuesday night, governor Paul LePage told WVOM, “I will just say this: John Lewis ought to look at history. It was Abraham Lincoln who freed the slaves, it was Rutherford B. Hayes and Ulysses S. Grant who fought against Jim Crow laws. A simple thank you would suffice.”
Twitter users responded quickly:
This guy with the snark:
"I'm surprised Paul LePage said something stupid" said no one ever. https://t.co/gSMo9yx3Y4
— Liam Jeffries (@ljeff1000) January 17, 2017
Harry Enten, a writer for 538:
Paul LePage, the governor of the whitest state in the country, giving lessons on civil rights to John Lewis. Interesting choice.
— (((Harry Enten))) (@ForecasterEnten) January 17, 2017
This guy:
Thanks to Donald Trump, Paul LePage these days seems less crazy.
— Smoothie (@ManiacNewsGuy) January 6, 2017
This guy with no words:
Wow. I have no words. Racist public officials feeling free and easy with their hate #racist @CNNPolitics https://t.co/I9nHm4gxNt
— Matt Rinehart (@MattRinehart2) January 17, 2017
This person standing up for liberty and justice for all:
@ManiacNewsGuy neither are crazy. Nothing crazy about liberty and justice for all, instead of a few powerful elitists like Clintons.
— Casey Parker (@CaseyParksIt) January 17, 2017
Part-time Mainer and comedian, John Hodgman tweets:
When last *I* checked 2 white dudes invented airplanes so where's my thank you gift from everyone on this flight & WHY CANT I FLY THE PLANE? https://t.co/VIBzE1kLLy
— John Hodgman (@hodgman) January 17, 2017
This person who knows a thing or two about history:
The republicans back then are not the same republicans today. https://t.co/PZcFL3ACnT
— Andrew Simkovsky (@asimkovsky) January 17, 2017
This person who is concerned about fake news.
I thought the first tweet that went out was fake news, but no. https://t.co/Ut1btIosAu
— Cassandra Jaramillo (@cassandrajar) January 17, 2017
And the response from John Lewis:
Rep. John Lewis spokeswoman in response to LePage's comment this a.m.: "The facts of history refute that comment." #mepolitics
— Chris Cousins (@Storytiller) January 17, 2017
We’ll bring you more as Twitter continues to light up.