ST. LOUIS — A tweet by Democratic congressional candidate Cori Bush is drawing attention.
Bush defeated longtime Rep. Lacy Clay in the August primary.
A tweet from her verified Twitter account on Tuesday read, “If you’re having a bad day, just think of all the social services we’re going to fund after we defund the Pentagon.”
Her tweet drew both support and criticism with nearly 40,000 likes and more than 5,000 retweets.
Bush's opponent in the November election, Anthony Rogers, quote retweeted her and said, “the person running against me might be a little slow…”
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn) was among those who retweeted Bush’s tweet and People for Bernie, which is a group that supports Bernie Sanders, responded to Bush’s tweet.
State Sen. Jill Schupp (D) shared the following on her Twitter, "As the daughter of a marine veteran & an elected official in a state that's home to thousands of veterans & multiple military installations, I do not believe we should defund the Pentagon." "Unlike my opponent, I am not afraid to speak out against ideas that I believe are wrong for Missouri, even when those ideas come from my own party," she added.
Missouri Governor Mike Parson (R) was asked about Bush’s tweet during his COVID-19 briefing on Wednesday afternoon,
“When you talk about defunding the police, as you well know what I've said about that, when you talk about defending the Pentagon, that is not to be taken lightly by anybody in the state of Missouri. And as a veteran, I find it personal when you start talking about trying to do away with our men and women that serve this country, that serve this state,” Gov. Parson said.
“Missouri is 15th in the United States for people serving our country, which means this is a very patriotic state. And to make those kind of comments are one just in mature lack of experience and you're responsible,” he added.
5 On Your Side reached out to Bush’s office Wednesday but has not heard back as of this writing. This story will be updated.
Wednesday evening, Bush shared a thread on Twitter regarding her Tuesday tweet.