Mitt Romney Has a Secret Twitter Account, and It Sure Looks ...

“That's kind of what he does,” Romney said with a shrug, and then got up to retrieve an iPad from his desk. He explained that he uses a secret ... Advertisement Advertisement MittRomney ChipSomodevilla/GettyImages Tweet Share Comment Tweet Share Comment Recentlyin TheSlatest Poll:BidenApprovalRatingFallstoLowestofHisPresidency ChrisWallace:ILeftFoxNewsAfterPeopleatNetworkStartedto“QuestiontheTruth” Biden’sCommentAboutPutinHastheWhiteHouseinDamage-ControlMode BidentoProposeNew“BillionaireMinimumIncomeTax”of20Percent Earliertoday,theAtlantic’sMcKayCoppinspublishedalengthyprofileonMittRomney,apparentlypartofRomney’sefforttosethimselfupasthenobleRepublicanfoiltoanout-of-controlpresident.Thesesortsofpieces,whicharemoreaboutnarrativesettingthananythingelse,typicallydon’tcontainalotofnewinformation,butthishadonenotableexception.Aboutmidwaythrough,theusuallyguardedsenatorrevealedthat,justlikefellowlone-voice-ofreason-haverJamesComey,hewastheownerofasecretTwitteraccount. Advertisement Atonepoint,asCoppinsaskedhimaboutthe#IMPEACHMITTROMNEYhashtagTrumptweetedintobeingearlierthismonth,Romneysaidthis: “That’skindofwhathedoes,”Romneysaidwithashrug,andthengotuptoretrieveaniPadfromhisdesk.HeexplainedthatheusesasecretTwitteraccount—“Whatdotheycallme,a lurker?”—tokeeptabsonthepoliticalconversation.“Iwon’tgiveyouthenameofit,”hesaid,but“I’mfollowing668people.”Swipingathistablet,herecitedsomeoftheaccountshefollows,includingjournalists,late-nightcomedians(“What’shisname,thebigredheadfromBoston?”),andathletes.Trumpwasnotamongthem.“Hetweets somuch,”Romneysaid,comparingthepresidenttooneofhisnieceswhooversharesonInstagram.“Iloveher,butit’slike, Ah,it’stoomuch.” Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Inotherwords,awealthofinformationthatwouldbehighlyusefultoanyonehopingtotrackdownthesenator’ssupposedlysecretTwitterhideout—ormorespecifically,tome.ThechancesseemedhighthatRomney,aknownfamilyman,wouldwanttokeepclosetabsonhisoffspring.Andasluckwouldhaveit,Romneyhasplentyofoffspring. NotallofhisfivesonshavepublicTwitteraccounts,andsomeofthem,likethedreadedTagg,havetoomanyfollowerstopossiblydigthrough.Romney’soldestgrandchild,AllieRomneyCritchlow,however,hasjust481followers,makingdiggingthroughthemanannoying-but-not-impossiblefeat.AsIscrolled,whilefocusingontheonesthatappearedtomakeanefforttoconcealtheirrealidentities,oneinparticularcaughtmyeye. Advertisement Reader,meetTwitteruser@qaws9876,otherwiseknownasPierreDelecto. Twitter Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement ThisaccountjoinedthesiteinJulyof2011,justonemonthafterRomneyannouncedhisrunforpresident.Themajorityofpeopleitfollowsareeitherpoliticalreporters,politicians,politicaloperatives,orpundits.ThoughitalsofollowsnotedbigredheadfromBostonConanO’Brien.PierreDelectoappearstobeafanofthelate-nighthostsJimmyKimmelandJimmyFallon,too,aswellascurrentandformerNFLplayersTomBradyandBrettFavre,respectively. Advertisement Advertisement PierreDelectocurrentlyfollows702accounts,whichisafewmorethanthe668RomneyadmittedtoCoppins,butit’scertainlypossibletofollow30additionalaccountsoverthecourseofafewweeks,especiallyforauserthatappearstohaverecentlyuppeditsTwitteractivity. Advertisement ThePierreDelectoaccount’sveryfirstfollowwaseldestRomneyscionTagg,joinedshortlythereafterbyGlenJohnson,aformerpoliticseditorforBoston.comwhowasfirmlyontheRomneybeataroundthetimetheaccountwasoriginallycreated.NextwasMarkDeMoss,whotheSaltLakeTribunedescribedin2012as“anunpaidadvisertoMittRomney’spresidentialcampaignforthepastfiveyears,”andEricFehrnstrom,whostillhas“Former @MittRomney adviser”inhisTwitterbio. Advertisement Advertisement Ingeneral,theaccountfollowseveryoneyoumightexpectsomeonelikeMittRomneytofollow.There’sthelateCharlesKrauthammer,thelateJohnMcCain,LarryKudlow,RupertMurdoch,BillKristol,MattSchapp,and—whoelsebut—PeggyNoonan.ItalsofollowsallthepeopleyouwouldexpectsomeonewhoisexactlyMittRomneytofollow.TherearealloftheavailableRomneychildren,anumberofformerRomneyadvisersandaides(like,alot),andquiteafewreporterswho’vedirectlycoveredRomneyorhisvariouscampaigns(likeAshleyParker,MattViser,PhillipRucker,StevenPeoples,andCoppinshimself,allofwhomwereontheRomneybeatin2012,amongothers). Advertisement GettheSlatestinYourInbox Weencounteredanissuesigningyouup.Pleasetryagain. Emailaddress: SendmeupdatesaboutSlatespecialoffers. Bysigningup,youagreetoour PrivacyPolicy and Terms. SignUp Thanksforsigningup!Youcanmanageyournewslettersubscriptionsatanytime. Then,therearetheaccountsit’shardtoimagineanyonebutMittRomneyfollowing.There’sthisseeminglyrandompersonwhomanagedtosnagthe@SenRomneyTwitterhandle,thepro-Romneyparodyaccount@AltPresRomney,andvariousfan-runaccountslike@NY4Mittand@MittRomney_2016.There’salsotheapparentlyofficial(basedonthefactthatthefirstpersontofollowitwasRomney’sformerdigitaldirector)thoughnever-utilized(itonlyeversentonetweet)account@Mitt_NH.OurPierreDelectowasthe23rdpersontofollowthisaccount,almostdirectlyafteritwasfollowedbytheofficial@TeamRomneyaccountandrightbeforeanumberofreportersjumpedonboard,whichwouldseemtoindicateatleastsomesortofheads-up.There’salsoJonMoe,aphotographerfromUtahwho’stakenfamilyphotographsoftheextendedRomneyclan.He’salsotweetedthis: Advertisement Advertisement Surfersfortheromsterpic.twitter.com/VcOhDcRi—jon(@jonmoephoto)April21,2012 PierreDelecto’seightfollowersmostlyseemtobeofthesortanyrandomaccountonTwittermightaccumulateifitfestersaroundthesitelongenough.Theonenotableexceptionhereisitsmostrecentfollower,@Darlin1Patience.Because@Darlin1Patience’saccountisprivate,there’snoeasywaytoseeeveryoneitcurrentlyfollows.AlittlediggingintosomeMitt-adjacentaccounts,however,revealsthat@Darlin1Patiencedoesfollowafewlesser-knownmembersoftheRomneyfamily,likeCraigRomney,whoonlyhasalittleover3,300followers,andeldestRomneygrandchildAllieRomney,withherjustunder500followers.It’scertainlynotablethen,that@Darlin1Patience,whoonlyfollows194peopleatthetimeofpublication,alsofollowsPierreDelecto. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Thenwehavethetweets.Pierrehasonlyevertweeted10timestotal,andallofthemhavebeenrepliestoothertweets—certainlythesortofbehavioronemightexpecttoseefromaself-described“lurker.”Theaccount’sfirsttweet,comingawholefouryearsafteritsinitialregistration,wasashowoffrustrationatFoxNewsfornotyethavingaNewHampshirepresidentialpollup. Advertisement Advertisement Twitter Advertisement MittRomneywaslivinginNewHampshireattime. Thenexttweetdidn’tcomeuntilMayofthisyear,whenPierrewasmovedtopointouttoaBloombergreporterthathehadforgottentoincludeRomneyinalistofsenatorsstickingupforRichardBurr. Twitter Advertisement NextwasatweettoRomneySenatecolleagueDickDurbin,whomPierrecasuallyaddressedas“Dick,”followedbyaseriesoftweetsdefendingMittRomney’shonor. Twitter Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Twitter Twitter Advertisement Twitter Advertisement Morerecently,therewasatweetexpressingunhappinessatTrump’sdecisiontowithdrawtroopsfromSyria(whichRomneyhaspubliclycondemned)whilealsoinsistingontheSenate’spowerlessness(asRomneyamoveasthereeverwas). Advertisement Twitter Advertisement Advertisement AndonSaturday,PierreDelectoofferedabashfuljokeinresponsetoanErickEricksontweetfullofRomneypraise. Advertisement Twitter Ofthe257tweetstheaccounthaslikedoverthelasteightyears,30ofthemcamefromtheofficial@SenatorRomneyaccount,28camefromtheofficial@MittRomneyaccount,sevenweretweetsquotingeitherthe@SenatoryRomneyor@MittRomneyaccounts,andthreeincludedadirectmentionofoneortheother.EvenmorewereaboutRomneygenerallywithoutmentioninganofficialTwitterhandle. Advertisement Advertisement HerearejustafewofthoseRomney-centrictweetsbelovedbyPierre: Classylady.https://t.co/vGHpHAR28m—BethMyers(@bethmyers201)February26,2019 Advertisement AsRepublicansturnonpeoplelikeMittRomney&USintelligenceagents,I'dliketoremindeveryonethatthecrookthey'restupidlyprotectingisbannedfromoperatingacharityinallofNYbecauseheandhisswindlingkidsstolefromachildren'scancercharity.—JoshMoon(@Josh_Moon)October6,2019 Advertisement Advertisement ThepeopleofUtahweresodisgustedbyRomney'scriticismsofTrumptheyelectedhimtotheSenatein2018bya62%-30%marginhttps://t.co/I1GsdqYv8D—ChristianSchneider(@Schneider_CM)October5,2019 Advertisement Advertisement WhoishavingthebetterSaturday?pic.twitter.com/qFZ4svo6Bt—MattViser(@mviser)October5,2019 Romneyalum,circa2002,lookingsharp,spottedonCapitolHill.@MrWillRitter@Ron_Kaufmanpic.twitter.com/fNOti3NBcD—BethMyers(@bethmyers201)January3,2019 Advertisement TurnsoutRomneywasalwaysopposedtoConfederateflaginSC.Goodforhim.https://t.co/ggWK8zO51j—EsotericJeff(@EsotericCD)June20,2015 Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement AmongPierre’slikedtweetsthatdon’tdirectlymentionMittRomney,GeorgeConway,KellyanneConway’soutspokenNeverTrump-erofahusband,appearstobeaparticularfavorite,withPierrelikingquiteafewtweetsthatcallTrump’sfitnessforofficeintoquestion,aswellasthisoneexpressingfrustrationatLindseyGraham: Advertisement It’shardtoknowwhattosayaboutthis.https://t.co/53xHIkMZOT—GeorgeConway(@gtconway3d)October9,2019 PierreDelectoalsolikedthistweettentativelysupportinganinvocationofthe25thamendment: Advertisement I'vealwaysthoughtthat"invokethe25thamendment!"wasamisguided,futilenotionbutafterthisTweetfromthePresident,I'mreassessing...https://t.co/MFs3MpT6kj—JeffGreenfield(@greenfield64)October7,2019 Perhapsmorerevealingamongtheaccount’slikedtweets,though,isthis: Advertisement Advertisement YouwerecheatingonyoursecondwifewiththewomanwhoisnowyourthirdwifeevenwhileimpeachingClintonforcheatingonhiswife.Showyourselfout🐮https://t.co/3I5ZhWgAFE—DevinNunes’cow🐮(@DevinCow)September30,2019 And,frombackinJuneof2016,this: HopefullyHillarywillinspireanewgenerationofgirlstomarryambitiouspervertswhowillpayofftheirembarrassmentwithSenateseats.—DavidBurge(@iowahawkblog)June8,2016 Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Thereisoneremainingmystery,however:theusername.Thehandle@qaws9876doesn’tholdanyobvioussignificancetoRomney,althoughconsideringthefourlettersarealldirectlyadjacenttooneanotheronastandardkeyboard,andthenumbersaresimplyrunbackward,itseemsentirelypossiblethatitwasanattemptatrandomplaceholdertext.ThenamePierreDelecto,however,ishardertoexplain.“Pierre”certainlydoesseemlikeanameaMittRomney-typelookingforanaliasmightchoose,thoughthe“Delecto”islessclear. Advertisement We’vereachedouttoRomneyforcomment,andwillupdateifandwhenwehearback.Inthemeantime,ifyouknowanythingaboutournewfriendPierreDelecto—oranyothersecretsocialmediaaccountsmembersofcongressmightbeholdingonto—pleasedoletusknow. Update,7:24p.m.:Shortlyafterthispostwentup,PierreDelectomadetheaccountprivate,thenpublicforafewminutes,thenprivateoncemore.We’vereplacedthetheembeddedtweetswithscreenshotsaccordingly. Update,9:39p.m.:Folks,it’sMitt: Justspoketo@MittRomneyonthephone,andaskedhimaboutPierreDelecto.Hisonlyresponse:"C'estmoi."Updatedmystoryaccordingly:https://t.co/kcfIopokWh—McKayCoppins(@mckaycoppins)October21,2019 Tweet Share Comment Senate Twitter MittRomney Advertisement Advertisement