A Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives confronted Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) following a debate on the issues of crime and policing and called her a “fucking bitch” for remarks she had made regarding how poverty and hopelessness are partly to blame for crime, according to The Hill:
“Rep. Ted Yoho (R-Fla.) was coming down the steps on the east side of the Capitol on Monday, having just voted, when he approached Ocasio-Cortez, who was ascending into the building to cast a vote of her own.
“In a brief but heated exchange, which was overheard by a reporter, Yoho told Ocasio-Cortez she was ‘disgusting’ for recently suggesting that poverty and unemployment are driving a spike in crime in New York City during the coronavirus pandemic.”
Witnesses who saw the exchange say Yoho then told Ocasio-Cortez, “You are out of your freaking mind.”
When Ocasio-Cortez fired back at Yoho and told him he was being “rude,” the two parted ways and began walking back to their respective congressional offices, but the Florida Republican was far from done being both rude and disgusting:
“Ocasio-Cortez headed into the building, while Yoho, joined by Rep. Roger Williams (R-Texas), began descending toward the House office buildings. A few steps down, Yoho offered a parting thought to no one in particular.
“‘Fucking bitch,’ he said.”
Asked about the exchange later, Ocasio-Cortez noted that it was the first time a fellow member of the House had been so aggressive and hateful when speaking to her:
“That kind of confrontation hasn’t ever happened to me — ever. I’ve never had that kind of abrupt, disgusting kind of disrespect levied at me.”
Reporters attempted to ask Yoho about what had happened, but were dismissed with a curt “No comment.”
The back-and-forth between Yoho and Ocasio-Cortez was in response to comments Ocasio-Cortez made earlier in the month during a virtual town hall with constituents. Specifically, she remarked:
“Crime is a problem of a diseased society, which neglects its marginalized people. Policing is not the solution to crime.
“Maybe this has to do with the fact that people aren’t paying their rent and are scared to pay their rent, and so they go out and they need to feed their child and they don’t have money. So … they’re put in a position where they feel like they either need to shoplift some bread or go hungry that night.”
Despite his disagreement with Ocasio-Cortez on the issues, Rep. Yoho clearly owes her an apology for his hateful outburst. But knowing Republicans, none of us will hold our breath waiting for that.
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