Romney is Pierre Delecto

Reviews
Governor Mitt Romney came into the news this week after it was revealed that he had a fake alias on twitter. He said in an interview with the Atlantic that he had one, and it was later revealed that he was going under the name Pierre Delecto. He often attacked President Trump and responded to his critics.
Common Facts
Content (13)
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The New
BBC
"Mitt Romney, the senator from Utah, former Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts governor, is also, apparently, the man behind a Twitter account that uses the moniker 'Pierre Delecto.' "
"Asked to confirm by a journalist, Mr Romney said, 'C'est moi' ("It's me")."
"The Utah senator and former governor of Massachusetts is an outspoken critic of President Donald Trump, a fellow Republican."
"It is unknown why he chose the account name, Pierre Delecto."
"Coppins prompted the revelation that [Romney] "uses a secret Twitter account – 'What do they call me, a lurker?' – to keep tabs on the political conversation"."
"The senator did not give away the name, but listed some of the roughly 700 accounts he follows – including journalists, athletes and comedians."
"All this was not enough for Slate journalist Ashley Feinberg, who launched an investigation into what possible account the senator could be using."
"The [Delecto] account has since been made private."
"It first opened on the social media site in July 2011, one month after Mr Romney announced plans to run for the presidency."
"Pierre Delecto follows a number of Mr Romney's family members and former aides."
"The account also posted several telling replies to Romney-related tweets, which were captured by screenshot before the account was made private on Sunday night. (10/20/19)"
"Asked if he was indeed Pierre Delecto, Mr Romney gave his brief reply in French."
"Former FBI Director James Comey tweeted under the name of American theologian Reinhold Niebuhr. Reporter Ashley Feinberg again was behind speculation it was him before he confirmed his use of the account in October 2017."
Review Info (3)
First Published: 10/22/2019 01:51:39 am
Last Updated: 11/30/-0001 12:00:00 am
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Washington Post
Content (13)
"For years, Pierre Delecto’s presence on Twitter largely went unnoticed."
"Operating a bare-bones account with the handle @qaws9876, the user’s limited activity revealed only an interest in politics — namely, supporting Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah). "
"By early Monday (10/21/19), the unusual pseudonym was a trending moment on Twitter and had been mentioned in more than 47,000 tweets."
"When reached for comment late Sunday, a spokesperson for Romney responded by emailing The Washington Post a link to a tweet from Coppins that contained Romney’s brief confirmation."
"Romney brought up his covert Twitter persona during an interview with the Atlantic as he discussed Trump lashing out at him on social media. "
"The 72-year-old senator has condemned Trump for allegedly attempting to get officials in Ukraine to dig up dirt on former vice president Joe Biden and slammed the president’s decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria."
"According to Coppins, Romney shrugged off Trump’s insults and grabbed an iPad off his desk during the interview."
"But those slim details were more than enough for Feinberg. "
"The process, Feinberg wrote, hinged on the assumption that 'Romney, a known family man, would want to keep close tabs on his offspring.' ”
"Instead of targeting his family members with tens of thousands of followers, Feinberg homed in on a public account belonging to Allie Romney Critchlow, the senator’s oldest grandchild. "
"Critchlow’s account 'has just 481 followers, making digging through them an annoying-but-not-impossible feat,' Feinberg wrote."
"A deeper dive into Delecto’s account found that it matched the description Romney gave to the Atlantic. "
"Beyond politicians, political reporters and pundits, Delecto follows late-night hosts Conan O’Brien, Jimmy Kimmel and Jimmy Fallon and athletes such as New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and former Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre, according to Slate."
Opinion (5)
"So when 'Pierre Delecto' started trending Sunday on the social media platform, people were understandably confused."
“ 'Why are we talking about Pierre Delecto,' one person asked.
'WTH is a Pierre Delecto & why is everyone going crazy about it?' another wanted to know."
"I think people on both sides of the aisle can admit that Pierre Delecto is an amazing fake twitter name." -@SpikeEskin on twitter.
" 'The newly rebellious senator has become an outspoken dissident in Trump’s Republican Party, just in time for the president’s impeachment trial.' -theatlantic.com "
"In response, Trump has labeled Romney a “pompous ‘ass’” and called for his 'impeachment,' though senators cannot be impeached."
Article Info (4)
Date Published: 10/21/2019 07:16:00 am
Date Accessed: 10/21/2019 10:53:00 pm
Article Author: Allyson Chiu
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The New York Times
Content (13)
"Mr. Romney on Sunday admitted to McKay Coppins, a writer at The Atlantic, that he was responsible for the social media account."
"[Romney] uses (The Delecto twitter account) to covertly monitor political discourse and occasionally defend himself. "
"Several events preceded [Romney's] admission."
"The Atlantic published a profile of Mr. Romney on Sunday (10/20/19)."
"Those efforts form the basis of an impeachment investigation by the House."
"[Romney's] admission spurred curiosity, particularly that of the online newsmagazine, Slate."
"Slate theorized that Pierre Delecto, or Twitter user @qaws9876, was Mr. Romney after it discovered the account among the Twitter followers of one of his grandchildren."
"Slate’s Ashley Feinberg found that Pierre Delecto’s first follower was Mr. Romney’s oldest son, Tagg. "
"The account also followed all of Mr. Romney’s children who are on Twitter and several former advisers, according to Slate."
" 'Jennifer, you need to take a breath,' Pierre Delecto replied. 'Maybe you can then acknowledge the people who agree with you in large measure even if not in every measure.' "
"After Slate published its article, Mr. Coppins circled back with Mr. Romney to ask if he was indeed 'Pierre Delecto.' "
"A spokeswoman for Mr. Romney did not directly answer questions about the account on Sunday night. "
" But in an email, the spokeswoman sent a link to the tweet from Mr. Coppins describing Mr. Romney’s admission."
Opinion (4)
"Mr. Trump lashed out in response this month, calling the senator on Twitter a 'pompous ‘ass’ who has been fighting me from the beginning.' "
"In one tweet, the president used the hashtag '#IMPEACHMITTROMNEY.' "
In one tweet from May, Jennifer Rubin, a conservative blogger at The Washington Post, said Mr. Romney’s strategy on Mr. Trump was “non-confrontation verging on spinelessness.”
" 'i believe i may have found mitt romney's secret twitter account.
— Ashley Feinberg' "
Article Info (4)
Date Published: 10/21/2019 12:00:00 am
Date Accessed: 10/24/2019 10:32:00 pm
Article Author: Mihir Zavieri
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BBC
Content (15)
"In an interview with The Atlantic magazine on Sunday (10/20/19), the former presidential candidate admitted he had a 'lurker' Twitter handle to follow the US political conversation anonymously."
"While he did not reveal its name, US news site Slate posted an article speculating it could be Pierre Delecto, @qaws9876."
"Coppins asked the senator about President Trump's prolific tweeting – including attacks on Mr Romney himself."
"Mr Trump was not among [Romney's Followers]. Mr Romney said in the interview the president 'tweets so much', comparing him to his niece on Instagram. 'I love her, but it's like, Ah, it's too much.' "
"Scouring Mr Romney's grandchildren's Twitter accounts revealed Twitter user @qaws9876, known as Pierre Delecto."
"The account has only tweeted a handful of times, all in reply to other tweets."
"Coppins, who wrote the Atlantic piece, then called Mr Romney to see if the speculation was accurate."
"The senator had learnt the language while doing missionary work in France as a young man."
"Mr Romney ran unsuccessfully for the presidency in 2012, losing to incumbent Barack Obama."
"Since January 2019, he has served as the junior US senator from Utah."
"He has publicly questioned Donald Trump's fitness for office, writing in the Washington Post that the president had not 'risen to the mantle' of his office."
"Mr Romney is not the only US politician to use a pseudonym."
"James Comey was sacked by President Trump in May 2017."
"Ex-New York congressman Anthony Weiner reportedly used the alias "Carlos Danger" when he sent explicit photos to a young woman. Weiner was recently released from prison after serving a 15-month sentence for sending explicit messages to a minor."
"President Trump has allegedly used a number of fake names throughout his career, among them John Barron and John Miller. The Washington Post reported in 2016 about the allegations, which Mr Trump has repeatedly denied."
Opinion (1)
"Mr Trump has attacked the senator several times, most recently calling for his impeachment on Twitter."
Article Info (4)
Date Published: 10/21/2019 12:00:00 am
Date Accessed: 10/25/2019 10:10:00 pm
Article Author: Unknown
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