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Patton Oswalt gets into Twitter spat with Trump supporter – then helps pay his medical bills

Posted at 7:50 PM, Jan 25, 2019
and last updated 2019-01-25 21:50:46-05

When Patton Oswalt got trolled on Twitter, he chose compassion over "getting even."

It all started when the  actor and comedian responded to a tweet from Donald Trump.

Twitter user Michael Beatty wrote, "I just realized why I was so happy you died in Blade Trinity!" and "And you shoot basketball ike [sic] the sawed off little man you are."

Oswalt looked at the man's timeline and saw he was having health issues.

"He's in a LOT of trouble health-wise," Oswalt tweeted and shared a link to the man's GoFundMe page.

According to the GoFundMe page, Beatty is a Vietnam veteran who recently spent two weeks in the hospital with sepsis and diabetic ketoacidosis.  He said he coded twice in the emergency room.

"I have a meager retirement check," he wrote on the page.

He was hoping to raise $5,000 for his treatment. But since Oswalt shared the link on Thursday, nearly $29,000 had been raised.

Beatty expressed his gratitude for Oswalt's gesture.

"Patton. You have humbled me to the point where I can barely compose my words. You have caused me to take pause and reflect on how harmful word from my mouth could result in such an outpouring," Beatty wrote.

He also expressed a desire to want to meet Oswalt.

"Let me know when you're going to perform anywhere close to me and I'll be there," Beatty tweeted.

"I want to thank everyone who came to my aid with generous outpourings -- and also to Patton Oswalt without whom I would not be the recipient of so much love and support," Beatty wrote. "I'm not a man who ever cries but I had to wait to send this."

Many people responded to Beatty thanking him for his service and letting him know that what happened showed that humanity is more important than politics.

Oswalt sent a tweet late Thursday urging his followers to start a GoFundMe for a furloughed government worker or to make a donation to a local food bank.