Chelsea Clinton really stepped in it on Saturday when she tweeted a Washington Post essay from someone who spent a year in Joe Arpaio's infamous Maricopa County jail.
Only problem was, Clinton tweeted the story headline without quotes, making it read as if she was saying that she spent a year in Arpaio's jail.
"The year I spent in Joe Arpaio’s tent jail was hell. He should never walk free," the tweet said with a link to the Post essay.
The year I spent in Joe Arpaio’s tent jail was hell. He should never walk free. https://t.co/KT09Monasj— Chelsea Clinton (@Chelsea Clinton) 1503768639.0
The essay details the horrors that Francisco Chairez faced while he was in Arpaio's jail for a drunk driving conviction.
"[In 2014], I got into a bad relationship and I drove while drunk. I was arrested, and it took the county an entire year to prosecute me. I thought it was the worst year of my life, until I was convicted and sent to one of Arpaio’s jails," Chairez wrote.
"How ironic it is, that the immigrant who committed a minor criminal act has to live with a conviction on his record for the rest of his life, while a criminal like Arpaio gets to walk away unscathed for his crimes, which are greater in scale and severity," he added.
The essay was penned after President Donald Trump pardoned Arpaio, igniting a wave of controversy. The former Maricopa County sheriff needed Trump's pardon because he had recently been convicted of criminal contempt for continuing a program in his sheriff department that deprived American citizens of their civil rights in an effort to combat illegal immigration.
Though Clinton was just tweeting the essay's link and was missing quotation marks around its headline, the reaction to the tweet was priceless:
That's right.....Wasn't Brian Williams your cell mate?
— Brad (@MesquiteSmoker) August 27, 2017
Yeah you've had a tough life. Suffered. Poor poor you.
— Bill Shaner (@bshaner01) August 27, 2017
Didn't Joe's tent jail have a Starbucks?
— duglystick (@duglystick) August 26, 2017
One social media user's tweet yielded many hilarious responses:
Silly question, she's a Clinton....
— ExGOP John Mann ن (@John_Mann44) August 26, 2017
Wasn't @ChelseaClinton also under heavy sniper fire as she was brought into the tent prison by her entourage of plagiarism junkies
— Bleed Razorback Red (@JohnnySimpson65) August 26, 2017
She was doing research for her mother on available accommodations
— Lord Single Malt (@Singlemaltfiend) August 26, 2017
For a moment I thought, "Finally, a Clinton does some time."
— Lewis Amselem (@TheDiplomad) August 26, 2017
What mom should be in for.
— Frederick Leathers (@FrederickLeath5) August 26, 2017
Clinton later acknowledged the mistake:
@phishcoug I shared directly from @washingtonpost site. Not sure why it being an op-ed wasn't clear. Thank you for pointing out.— Chelsea Clinton (@Chelsea Clinton) 1503769091.0