Liberal comedian Patton Oswalt was in a Twitter fight with a Trump supporter then decided to help him instead — and everything changed

Comedian and actor Patton Oswalt found himself in a Twitter feud with a Trump supporter this week. But when he found out that the man had health issues, he decided to help out and ended up raising more than $31,000 to pay for this complete stranger's medical bills.

What's the story?

Oswalt is an outspoken left-wing critic of President Donald Trump and a prolific tweeter.

On Thursday, a Trump supporter named Michael Beatty responded to a tweet that Oswalt had sent critical of Trump.

"I just realized why I was so happy you died in 'Blade Trinity'!" Beatty wrote.

Oswalt snarkily replied "Dude, I already know: 'cuz '...one more second of you on screen and my heart would belong to Patton Oswalt.' I get told this at least twice a week by Trump supporters. It always makes me smile and I'm grateful and blessed."

During the exchange he also called Oswalt a "sawed off little man."

But then Oswalt decided to click on Beatty's profile, and everything changed.

The man who tweeted at him turned out to be a Vietnam veteran who had spent two weeks in the hospital with sepsis and diabetic ketoacidosis. He had a GoFundMe fundraiser to pay his medical bills, but hadn't managed to raise very much money. That's when Oswalt decided to step in.

Twelve minutes after his initial response, Oswalt tweeted: "Aw, man. This dude just attacked me on Twitter and I joked back but then I looked at his timeline and he's in a LOT of trouble health-wise. I'd be pissed off too. He's been dealt some s**tty cards — let's deal him some good ones. Click and donate — just like I'm about to."

He also personally donated $2,000 to Beatty's fundraiser. At the time of this article's publication, the GoFundMe campaign had raised more than $31,000. The original goal was $5,000.

What did the veteran say?

Beatty thanked Oswalt on Twitter, saying that the comedian had "humbled me to the point where I can barely compose my words. You have caused me to take pause and reflect on how harmful words from my mouth could result in such an outpouring."

In a second tweet, Beatty said that Oswalt had "managed to not only let me slide on a rough tweet to him but started something that has me reevaluating friendships and productive dialogue regardless of political affiliation."

Oswalt and Beatty continued to send several more tweets back and forth — two Twitter users on opposite sides of the political spectrum who turned a political fight into an unlikely example of kindness.