House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) proved yet again over the weekend why Republicans have trouble getting female voters to support them, saying at a GOP fundraising dinner that if he becomes Speaker of the House after the 2022 midterm elections, he might “hit” Nancy Pelosi with the Speaker’s gavel.
According to Michael Scherer of the Washington Post, McCarthy made his remarks at a fundraiser held in Nashville:
Tenn. reps gave Kevin McCarthy an oversized gavel after speech.
McCarthy invites the 1,400 at Nashville dinner to DC when he becomes speaker.
He says he wants everyone to see Pelosi hand him the gavel. “It will be hard not to hit her with it but I will bang it down,” he says.
— michaelscherer (@michaelscherer) August 1, 2021
Here’s a photo of McCarthy with the oversized gavel:
The TN congressional delegation just presented @GOPLeader with a gavel that says “Fire Pelosi.” pic.twitter.com/0xkH662dei
— Yue Stella Yu (@bystellayu_tnsn) August 1, 2021
While some suggested that McCarthy’s remarks were just a joke, there was strong backlash on social media:
So now we’re suppose to just normalize politicians threatening physical violence on female politicians just because it was a Republican that made the threat? Amiright?
— TG (@TG22110) August 1, 2021
Kevin McCarthy joking how it would be “hard not to hit Pelosi” with the gavel is particularly unacceptable, following an attempted coup he helped encourage, where the mob threatened to KILL HER! https://t.co/fa9Skq7wCi
— Marcia (@marcia4justice) August 1, 2021
Violence against women is still comic fodder in Tennessee.
— Mark Kitterman (@kanesays23) August 1, 2021
It’s really disgusting that no Republican has the testicular fortitude to condemn Kevin McCarthy’s joke of violent attacks on Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
— David Weissman (@davidmweissman) August 1, 2021
I am fucking sick of watching the Republican leader in the House shit on cops and threaten Speaker Pelosi.
This behavior has crossed every line imaginable. https://t.co/I4MOAJfcZx
— Adam Parkhomenko (@AdamParkhomenko) August 1, 2021
Margaret Atwood’s line continues to explain modern politics. “Men are afraid women will laugh at them, women are afraid men will kill them.”
— Lawrence Krubner (@krubner) August 1, 2021
Featured Image Via NBC News
