In what may very well be a case of "too long, didn't read," Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) thanked the Salt Lake Tribune for naming him "Utahn of the Year," seemingly unaware the same paper explained the choice wasn't made because they thought we he was doing a good job.
In fact, the paper's editorial board called on him to leave office.
On Christmas Day, the Tribune posted two articles on Hatch: one naming him the Utah man of the year and an editorial explaining the selection while trashing the longtime Utah lawmaker for his "lack of integrity."
“It has everything to do with recognizing: Hatch’s part in the dramatic dismantling of the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments. His role as chairman of the Senate Finance Committee in passing a major overhaul of the nation’s tax code. His utter lack of integrity that rises from his unquenchable thirst for power,” the Tribune editorial board wrote.
Within hours of the paper publishing their articles online, Hatch responded on Twitter writing: "Grateful for this great Christmas honor from the Salt Lake Tribune. For the record, I voted for @SpencerJCox and @rudygobert27. #utpol"
Notably, Hatch didn't post a link to the stories-- only including a screen-shot of the headline supposedly "lauding" him.
While Hatch seemed unaware of why he received the dubious honor, Twitter users proved to be the type of people who go beyond the headlines and mocked the GOP lawmaker for giving positive attention to a story that leads to a call for him to retire.
Or as one Twitter pundit put it: "Reading is fundamental."
You can see the responses below:
