Listen to this "cougar" roar.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts on Thursday used her campaign Twitter account to slyly refer to a purported "sex scandal" involving her — a 70-year-old married woman contending for the Democratic presidential nomination — and a strapping 25-year-old former Marine who claims Warren since August 2018 hired him multiple times as an escort.
Warren's tweet pointedly referred to the mascot of the University of Houston, her alma mater — "go Cougars!"
Less than two hours earlier, two notorious right-wing provocateurs, Jack Burkman and Jacob Wohl, held a press conference in Arlington, Virginia, with Kelvin Whelly, the self-identified ex-Marine, which was promoted with a sign saying "Elizabeth Warren Cougar?"
The term "cougar" refers to an older woman who seeks out relationships with younger men.
Burkman and Wohl have a history of making outlandish claims that fall apart, sometimes at ineptly orchestrated press conferences that are widely mocked on social media.
Even as he announced Wednesday that the press conference with Whelly would be held, Burkman made a typo in a prepared quote of his that was instantly skewered online: "These charges will shock the conscious of the nation."
At Thursday's press conference, someone in the sparse audience played the Patsy Cline song "Crazy" as Whelly read a statement about his purported trysts with Warren.
His claims were met with laughter by some in the crowd, and Whelly himself seemed at times to be having a hard time keeping a straight face as he detailed his claims, which included the use of a "cat of nine tails."
Wohl and Burkman at several points said that if individuals did not stop laughing at them and Whelly, and making snide remarks, they would be removed.
But the security guard hired for the event refused Wohl's requests to escort the hecklers away.
Whelly during the press conference removed his shirt to reveal what he claimed to be were scars from a session with Warren.
But shortly after he did so, a number of people on social media identified an Instagram account that appeared to be Whelly's in which he had posted a picture several years ago showing his scarred back.
"Hit my back with a chain trying to take down a swing," the caption on the post said.
CNBC has reached out to Warren's campaign for comment.
- Additional reporting by Tucker Higgins
