Walmart accidentally sparks battle with Sen. Josh Hawley, after a social media staffer calls him a ‘#soreloser’ on the company’s Twitter account

• #On #Tuesday, #Walmart’s corporate account called #Republican #Sen. #Josh #Hawley a “#soreloser” on #Twitter after #Hawley said he would challenge the certification of the #Electoral #College vote.
• #Walmart said in a statement to #Business #Insider that the tweet “was mistakenly posted by a member of our social media team who intended to publish this comment to their personal account.”
• #Hawley responded by asking #Walmart to “apologize for using slave labor” and “the pathetic wages you pay your workers as you drive mom and pop stores out of business.”
• #Visit #Business #Insider’s homepage for more stories.

A social media misstep sparked an unlikely battle between #Republican #Sen. #Josh #Hawley and #Walmart on #Wednesday.

#On #Tuesday, #Hawley tweeted that he planned to object to the certification of the #Electoral #College vote on #January 6, citing baseless claims of voter fraud. #Experts say that the challenge is extremely unlikely to succeed, with #President-elect #Joe #Biden’s victory over #President #Donald #Trump confirmed by the #Electoral #College on #December 14.

#Read more: The race is already starting for the #Republican 2024 presidential nomination. #Here’s #Insider’s rankings of the top 14 likely candidates, from #Trump to #Haley to #Hogan.

—#Josh #Hawley (@HawleyMO) #December 30, 2020

#In a since-deleted tweet, #Walmart’s social media account responded to #Hawley. The tweet reads: “#Go ahead. #Get your 2 hour debate. #soreloser.”

#Walmart said in a statement to #Business #Insider that the tweet “was mistakenly posted by a member of our social media team who intended to publish this comment to their personal account.”

“#We have removed the post and have no intention of commenting on the subject of certifying the electoral college,” the statement continued. “#We apologize to #Senator #Hawley for this error and any confusion about our position.”

#Hawley responded by asking #Walmart to “apologize for using slave labor” and “the pathetic wages you pay your workers as you drive mom and pop stores out of business.”

—#Josh #Hawley (@HawleyMO) #December 30, 2020

#When asked for comment on the incident, a representative for #Hawley referred #Business #Insider to the senator’s tweets.

#Walmart and other major retailers have been criticized for using suppliers that fail to pay workers a living wage and perpetuate violence and harassment. (#Walmart has released a number of reports on its efforts to prevent slavery and human trafficking through its supply chains.)

#While many small businesses have suffered during the pandemic, #Walmart’s business has been booming. #According to the nonprofit #Opportunity #Insights, the number of small businesses in the US has dropped by 29% since #January. #Walmart’s shares increased by 22% so far in 2020.

#Walmart CEO #Doug #McMillon congratulated #Biden on winning the presidential election during a call with investors #November.

“I want to wrap up by saying congratulations to #President-elect #Biden,” #McMillon said on a call with investors. “#We look forward to working with the administration and both houses of #Congress to move the country forward and solve issues on behalf of our associates, customers, and other stakeholders.”