If you haven't heard the name Dean Browning, that's about to change.
The former Pennsylvania Republican congressional candidate, who just lost his election bid, took to his verified Twitter account on Tuesday to share an anti-Barack Obama, pro-Donald Trump message. However, the post immediately raised eyebrows, as the person behind the message described themselves as a gay Black man, which Browning definitely is not.
"I’m a black gay guy and I can personally say that Obama did nothing for me, my life only changed a little bit and it was for the worse," the since-deleted post read. "Everything is so much better under Trump though. I feel respected - which I never do when democrats are involved."
People immediately speculated that the very white Pennsylvania politician mistakenly posted the message to his main account, after forgetting to switch to his burner.
Twitter users eventually came across what they believed to be Browning's fake account. They were convinced that Browning has been posing as a gay Black man with the user name @DanPurdy322. The account's avatar is an illustration rather than an actual photo. It was created last month, has about 700 followers, and follows nearly 150 accounts, most of which belong to GOP figures, including Trump, Vice President Mike Pence, Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, and—you guessed it—Browning.
Browning responded to the incident by claiming he was simply quoting a message he received from a follower. He then apologized for failing to make that clear.
But people weren't buying it, and were both amused and disturbed by the whole situation.
Later in the day, a man claiming to be Dan Purdy posted a video defending Browning, saying that he did indeed send that message to him.
But as some people pointed out, the man claiming to be Dan Purdy actually appears to be William Holte, who also happens to the son of Patti LaBelle.
We'll keep you updated as this bizarre story continues to unfold.
