GOP lawmaker tweets, deletes D-Day tribute featuring Nazi soldiers

In a post commemorating the 74th anniversary of D-Day, Rep. Drew Ferguson (R-Ga.) appears to have tweeted — and then deleted — a photo of Nazi troops.

The campaign Twitter account for Ferguson, who is running for reelection in Georgia’s 3rd District, posted a black-and-white photo on Wednesday of troops wearing curved helmets featuring Nazi decals.

{mosads}The picture also showed a nearby tank decorated with the Iron Cross, a Nazi military symbol. 

Time first reported the blunder on Wednesday.

Dan McLagan, spokesperson for Ferguson’s campaign, said in a statement to The Hill that an intern from their digital company selected the image. 

“As a patriot and the father of a daughter serving in the Navy, Drew is pretty furious about it,” McLagan said. “We deleted the post immediately but the sentiment of heartfelt gratitude and reverence for the men who charged into withering fire on those beaches 74 years ago can never be erased from our hearts.”

The post also included a quote from President Truman, who was not yet president during the Allied troops’ invasion of Normandy, France.

“The heroism of our own troops… was matched by that of the armed forces of the nations that fought by our side… they absorbed the blows… and they shared to the full in the ultimate destruction of our enemy,” the tweet read.

Truman’s quote is engraved at the National World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C.

Ferguson later sent a revised tweet featuring a photo of American troops and using the same quote.

“The heroism of our own troops… was matched by that of the armed forces of the nations that fought by our side… they absorbed the blows… and they shared to the full in the ultimate destruction of the enemy.”
— President Harry Truman #DDay pic.twitter.com/6McYGOjgMW

— Drew Ferguson (@DrewFergusonGA) June 6, 2018

Some social media users reposted screenshots of the candidate’s original tweet, poking fun at the congressman for the error.

Defense attorney and podcast host T. Greg Doucette joked that Ferguson did not see the picture, or “did Nazi that,” before tweeting out the tribute.

“That awkward moment when you’re an incumbent Republican Congresscritter, running for re-election, and tweet out a picture of Hitler’s troops to honor #DDay,” Doucette tweeted.

That awkward moment when you’re an incumbent Republican Congresscritter, running for re-election, and tweet out a picture of Hitler’s troops to honor #DDay

Gonna guess @DrewFergusonGA / @RepDrewFerguson did Nazi that before tweeting?

[h/t @hayhaydrewdoo]https://t.co/sLNDDDKGZb pic.twitter.com/XwNupMyf5h

— T. Greg Doucette (@greg_doucette) June 6, 2018

Ferguson won the Republican primary on May 22. He will face Democratic candidate Chuck Enderlin in November.

Updated at 4:03 p.m.