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Refrigerators For Romney: KitchenAid's Twitter Account Insults Obama's Dead Grandmother
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Oct 4, 2012
Modified Oct 4, 2012
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By
Christopher Robbins
Published Oct 4, 2012
Modified Oct 4, 2012
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Did you know that KitchenAid mixers tend to vote Republican? (Also, Keurig coffeemakers lean Libertarian, and each Black & Decker toaster oven is built with a piece of Ralph Nader's soul.) During last night's presidential debate, KitchenAid's political preferences were laid bare when the social media manager at the helm of their Twitter account tweeted this after Obama invoked his sick (and now deceased) grandmother: "Obamas gma even knew it was going 2 b bad! 'She died 3 days b4 he became president'. #nbcpolitics"
Obama's grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, died of cancer on November 2, 2008. KitchenAid's senior director of marketing, Cynthia Soledad, took the helm to correct the error.
I would like to personally apologize to President @barackobama, his family and everyone on Twitter for the offensive tweet sent earlier.
— KitchenAid (@KitchenAidUSA) October 4, 2012
Hello, everyone. My name is Cynthia Soledad, and I am the head of the KitchenAid brand.
— KitchenAid (@KitchenAidUSA) October 4, 2012
Deepest apologies for an irresponsible tweet that is in no way a representation of the brand's opinion. #nbcpolitics
— KitchenAid (@KitchenAidUSA) October 4, 2012
Soledad told CNN that "a member of our Twitter team mistakenly posted an offensive tweet from the KitchenAid handle instead of a personal handle." She also said that person won't be tweeting under the esteemed mixer avatar anymore. Look for next week's 5,000 word piece in Poynter about how hiring a cabal of angry, Obama chain email-forwarding grandmothers to run your company's social media is a risky, yet intriguing idea.
Tagged
2012 election
appliances for romney
kitchenaid
mitt romney
Christopher Robbins
Christopher Robbins is a New York City reporter covering transportation, affordable housing, local politics, and criminal justice. His work has also appeared in New York Magazine, The Village Voice and The New York Times. Chris is a graduate of Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke, Virginia, and enjoys biking to Fort Tilden in the summertime.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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