Lynne Patton, a Housing and Urban Development (HUD) staffer plucked by the Trump administration, apologized for calling a reporter "Miss Piggy" during a Twitter spat.
The former event planner for the Trump family, who was appointed to oversee the agency's New York and New Jersey offices, sent the tweet during an escalating fued with White House correspondent April Ryan on social media.
It began when Ryan claimed to have been receiving death threats arising from her coverage of the Trump administration, The Washington Times noted.
Patton responded by claiming to have been receiving death threats "from fellow minorities on the left for the past 3 years - so welcome to the club."
Ryan called Patton a "fruit loop," Patton called Ryan a "blogger" working for a "bankrupt outlet," the insults bounced back and forth until Patton dropped the bomb.
"I hear #MissPiggys still on a rampage. Gee, I must've struck a nerve, @AprilDRyan! #BankruptBlogger," she said in a now deleted tweet, according to The New York Daily News.
An hour later Patton apologized on Twitter.
"I deleted my last tweet by choice," she said. "No one from this Administration contacted me. It was beneath me & I apologize to @AprilDRyan. My parents raised me to respect others & I regret my response. I apologize to them, @SecretaryCarson & the Trump family. They deserved better."
Ryan told Patton to "Kick rocks little girl," and to "find a job," which was a direct stab at the HUD officials seeming lack of experience for her title.
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