Walmart's Josh Hawley 'Sore Loser' Tweet Sparks Calls to Boycott Retailer

A call to boycott Walmart gained traction on social media after the retail giant "mistakenly" issued a tweet calling Republican Senator Josh Hawley a "sore loser" on Wednesday.

The angry protest against one of the nation's largest retailers came after a member of Walmart's social media team insulted Hawley after he tweeted his intention to object to the results of the presidential election when Congress meets on January 6 to count the votes of the Electoral College.

"I cannot vote to certify the electoral college results on January 6 without raising the fact that some states, particularly Pennsylvania, failed to follow their own state election laws," Hawley, who is from Missouri, said in a statement posted to Twitter. "And I cannot vote to certify without pointing out the unprecedented effort of mega corporations, including Facebook and Twitter, to interfere in this election, in support of Joe Biden."

In response, Walmart's original tweet, which has since been deleted, mocked the senator, saying: "Go ahead. Get your 2 hour debate. #soreloser"

Casey Staheli, Walmart's senior manager of national media relations, told Newsweek on Wednesday that the tweet was "mistakenly" posted and does not reflect the views of the company.

"The tweet was mistakenly posted by a member of our social media team who intended to publish this comment to their personal account," Staheli said. "We have removed the post and have no intention of commenting on the subject of certifying the Electoral College. We apologize to Senator Hawley for this error and any confusion about our position."

Nonetheless, some Twitter users were outraged by the tweet, and a call to #BoycottWalmart begin trending by Wednesday afternoon.

"This is absolutely insane. Walmart being overtly political and calling Senator Josh Hawley a 'sore loser' for being concerned about election integrity. Good to know which side they are on! #BoycottWalmart," wrote Cameron Henry.

"I stand with Sen. Hawley, the only one willing to stand up and defend our President and constitution! Please join me in #BoycottWalmart," wrote Rich Hannigan.

Others refused to accept the company's apology. "That tweet wasn't a mistake. It was a message. Received loud and clear #BoycottWalmart," wrote one user.

"Wow! I will never shop at Walmart ever again! #BoycottWalmart," said Twitter user Gabriel Whitley.

Hawley himself criticized Walmart on Wednesday, calling out the retail chain for offending millions of Americans and "using slave labor."

"Thanks ⁦@Walmart for your insulting condescension. Now that you've insulted 75 million Americans, will you at least apologize for using slave labor?," he wrote. "Or maybe you'd like to apologize for the pathetic wages you pay your workers as you drive mom and pop stores out of business."

If Hawley, with the support of GOP Representative Mo Brooks of Alabama, objects to the electoral votes count on January 6, there will be a two-hour debate in both chambers. They will then vote on the objection. For the process to move forward, both chambers would have to agree on the objection in order to throw out contested electoral votes.

By 4 p.m. Wednesday, Hawley had not yet responded to Walmart's apology.

Newsweek reached out to both Walmart and Hawley for additional comment but did not hear back in time for publication.