A U.S. House candidate from Oregon is facing a wave of backlash after he called first lady Melania Trump a “hoebag” on Twitter.

“Did you know the First Lady works by the hour? #thinkdirty #hoebag,” Mark Roberts, an independent candidate running to represent Oregon’s 2nd Congressional District, wrote Monday morning.

The tweet, which remains active on Mr. Roberts’ verified account, was retweeted more than 400 times as of Tuesday morning, but was met with a whopping 7,400 responses — a Twitter trend known as getting “ratioed” for a tweet deemed unpopular.

Fox News host Laura Ingraham and Republican Rep. Kevin McCarthy called on Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey to suspend Mr. Roberts’ account.

Why has @jack not taken this tweet down and suspended the account? https://t.co/NgVQLMEjDE — Laura Ingraham (@IngrahamAngle) July 31, 2018

.@jack this attack on @FLOTUS is disgraceful. Comments like these have no business on any platform. This account should be banned ASAP. https://t.co/sIGO4ggeAM — Kevin McCarthy (@GOPLeader) July 31, 2018

Mr. Roberts remained unapologetic, saying the backlash resulted in an outpouring of donations. He also pointed to Mrs. Trump’s history as a professional model as apparent evidence she’s a sex worker.

You should see Marks bank account. He and Karma get along just fine. — Mark Roberts (@RobertsforCD2) July 30, 2018

You bet! Do you need to see the naked pix to prove it? #googleisyourfriend — Mark Roberts (@RobertsforCD2) July 30, 2018

Why do I call professional hookers professional hookers? If it walks like a duck..prob a duck 🦆 — Mark Roberts (@RobertsforCD2) July 30, 2018

You start whipping out $100’s and see how #classy she gets #makeitrain! — Mark Roberts (@RobertsforCD2) July 30, 2018

Mr. Roberts also posted a screenshot from Twitter saying his comments did not violate the site’s terms of use.

It’s that whole 1st amendment thing. pic.twitter.com/f6RsZved80 — Mark Roberts (@RobertsforCD2) July 31, 2018

Mr. Roberts ran unopposed in the Independent Party of Oregon primary in May, winning 66 percent of the vote. He’s running against Republican incumbent Rep. Greg Walden and Democrat Jamie McLeod-Skinner in the Nov. 6 election.

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