Teens behind octogenarian Gravel's long-shot 2020 campaign tweet from debate sidelines

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

POLITICS JUNE 28, 2019 / 4:18 PM / UPDATED 20 MINUTES AGO

Teens behind octogenarian Gravel's long-shot 2020 campaign tweet from debate sidelines

Elizabeth Culliford
3 MIN READ

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - After former Senator Mike Gravel failed to make the Democratic debate stage this week, the two teens running the 89-year-old’s long-shot U.S. presidential campaign used their spot on the sidelines trying to attract new supporters through social media.

David Oks and Henry Williams, both 18, spent Wednesday firing tweets from their seats in the debate’s Miami audience, attacking the candidates speaking on stage.

Under the @MikeGravel Twitter handle, which shows Gravel sporting sunglasses and making a peace sign, the teens mocked former congressman Beto O’Rourke and Senator Cory Booker’s use of Spanish. They blasted former Vice President Joe Biden on his civil rights record, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand over immigration and California congressman Eric Swalwell for “looking like the demonic representation of blandness.”

“Welcome to the second #DemDebate (Joe Biden goes off the rails edition),” they tweeted Thursday, now back at home in suburban New York.

The teens aim to get Gravel on the debate stage to steer the Democratic conversation to the left, particularly on foreign policy issues. The former Alaska senator wants to slash military spending and bring all troops home.

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Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-gravel/teens-behind-octogenarian-gravels-long-shot-2020-campaign-tweet-from-debate-sidelines-idUSKCN1TT2WW

[Drunken Irishman]

1. Yup. About what I'd expect they would look like.

But it's funny they attack Biden on civil rights. Gravel was a strong opponent to Affirmative Action back during his 2008 run.