Rep. Yoho apologizes on House floor for derogatory slur directed at AOC after angry confrontation
Republican Rep. Ted Yoho apologizes on House floor for profane confrontation on the Capitol steps with New York Democrat Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Leaders of the U.S. House spoke out Thursday in reaction to this week's clash between Rep. Ted Yoho, R-Fla, and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez D-N.Y.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., called for women to be 'treated with respect,' while House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., called for Ocasio-Cortez to accept Yoho's apology.
Earlier in the week, Yoho allegedly called Ocasio-Cortez a 'f------ b----' on the Capitol steps, reportedly in reaction to comments she had made about poverty contributing to a recent rise in crime in New York City.
The encounter prompted Ocasio-Cortez to lash out at Yoho in remarks on the House floor, in which she accused Yoho of hurling 'dehumanizing' insults against her.
Ocasio-Cortez, a freshman who has made her mark as one of Congress’s most outspoken progressives, described it on the House floor on Thursday. She said Yoho put his finger in her face and called. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, backed by a team of supportive colleagues, led one hour of passionate speeches on the House floor Thursday morning calling out Rep. Ted Yoho, R-Fla., for. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) Responds to Rep. Ted Yoho (R-FL): 'I do not need Representative Yoho to apologize to me. Clearly he does not want to.
Pelosi addressed the incident during a Capitol news conference, saying she has had similar comments directed toward her in the past, calling such remarks 'a manifestation of attitudes in our society.'
'The fact that the behavior of one of the members is such that the whole Democratic Women's Caucus has gone to the floor at a time when our floor time is very precious tells you how important this is,' Pelosi said. 'And it's a manifestation of attitudes in our society, really. I can tell you that firsthand. They've called me names for at least 20 years of leadership.'
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Calif., speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill, Thursday, July 23, 2020, in Washington. (Associated Press)
'There's no limit to the disrespect or the lack of acknowledgment of the strength of women. Nothing is more wholesome for our government, for our politics, for our country than the increased participation of women. And women will be treated with respect,' Pelosi said.
Yoho on Wednesday apologized on the House floor 'for the abrupt manner of the conversation I had with my colleague,' referring to Ocasio-Cortez.
'I rise to apologize for the abrupt manner of the conversation I had with my colleague from New York. It is true that we disagree on policies and visions for America. But that does not mean we should be disrespectful,' he said.
'The offensive name-calling words attributed to me by the press were never spoken to my colleagues. And if they were construed that way, I apologize for their misunderstanding.'
'People make mistakes'
McCarthy on Thursday said Ocasio-Cortez should accept Yoho's apology, adding that when someone makes a mistake and apologizes they, 'should be forgiven.'
House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., is seen in New York City, April 23, 2018. (Getty Images)
“I watched that Congressman Yoho went to the floor and apologized not once but twice to the congresswoman from New York. I watched the majority leader of the House accept his apology,' McCarthy said. 'In America, I know people make mistakes, we're a forgiving nation. I also think when someone apologizes they should be forgiven.'
He continued: 'I just think in a new world, in a new age, we now determine whether we accept when someone says I'm sorry -- if it's a good-enough apology for them.'
Ocasio-Cortez later indicated on Twitter that she did not accept the apology, saying how Yoho didn't 'apologize or name any action he did,' or 'accept responsibility.'
She also claimed he lied about their interaction -- saying 'this was not a 'conversation,' it was verbal assault.'
Two of Ocasio-Cortez's 'Squad' allies -- Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., and Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., also spoke out against Yoho's comments toward AOC.
“We are not on the House floor today because of just one callous incident,” Pressley said. “Unfortunately, what brings us to this moment are the structural and cultural conditions, and yes, the very men that have normalized the marginalization of women and specifically women of color since this nation’s very inception.”
'I'm here on behalf of women around the world,' Omar said. 'This is not just about one woman, one incident, or one verbal assaulter. This is about respect and fundamental equality.'
Meanwhile, Rep. Matt Gaetz, a Florida Republican, also defended Ocasio-Cortez, saying on Twitter this week that 'she is not a b---.'
'I can confirm that AOC gets along w many of her Republican colleagues on a range of things that don’t have anything to do w legislation or politics,' he wrote. 'She is not a b---.'
Fox News' Marisa Schultz and Tyler Olson contributed to this report
Warning, explicit language: Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez addresses Rep. Ted Yoho's insults
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez addresses Rep. Ted Yoho's insults against her in House floor speech
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, backed by a team of supportive colleagues, led one hour of passionate speeches on the House floor Thursday morning calling out Rep. Ted Yoho, R-Fla., for 'dehumanizing' insults against her and slamming his attempt to apologize as falling way short.
Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., recounted how Yoho accosted her on the Capitol steps Monday, put a finger in her face calling her 'disgusting,' 'crazy' and 'dangerous.' Later, she said Yoho then called her a 'f---ing b---h,' which was overheard by reporters.
“I will not stay up late at night waiting for an apology from a man who has no remorse over calling women and using abusive language towards women,” she said.
Ocasio-Cortez said she's used to getting harassed as a woman in America, recalling her time as a bartender and rider of New York City subways, and then getting targeted by President Trump as a member of Congress.
The liberal politician and member of the freshman 'squad' said she was prepared to let Yoho's comments go, until the retiring GOP congressman attempted to apologize on the House floor Wednesday and instead used his wife and daughters as 'shields' and 'excuses for poor behavior,' she said.
Yoho noted in his speech Wednesday that he has two daughters and has been married for nearly five decades, so he is 'very cognizant of my language.'
Ocasio Cortez Yoho Speech
'I am two years younger than Mr. Yoho's youngest daughter. I am someone's daughter, too,' Ocasio-Cortez said, getting emotional talking about her late father. 'My father, thankfully, is not alive to see how Mr. Yoho treated his daughter. My mother got to see Mr. Yoho's disrespect on the floor of this House towards me on television, and I am here because I have to show my parents that I am their daughter and that they did not raise me to accept abuse from men.'
Ocasio-Cortez ended her 10-minute monologue thanking Yoho for showing just how common harassment against women is -- even against members of Congress -- and how it's a 'pattern' of dehumanizing behavior.
'I want to thank him for showing the world that you can be a powerful man, and accost women,' Ocasio-Cortez said. 'You can have daughters and accost women, without remorse, you can be married and accost women. You can take photos and project an image to the world of being a family man and accost women without remorse and with a sense of impunity. It happens every day in this country. It happened here on the steps of our nation's Capitol.'
Alexandria Ocasio-cortez Full Speech Yoho
Yoho did apologize on the House floor on Wednesday following a report he called the congresswoman a 'f------ b----.'
'I stand before you this morning to address the strife I injected into the already contentious Congress,' Yoho said. 'I rise to apologize for the abrupt manner of the conversation I had with my colleague from New York. It is true that we disagree on policies and visions for America. But that does not mean we should be disrespectful.'
'The offensive name-calling words attributed to me by the press were never spoken to my colleagues. And if they were construed that way, I apologize for their misunderstanding,' Yoho said.
But AOC swiftly indicated on Twitter that she did not accept the apology.
She wrote that Yoho didn't 'apologize or name any action he did,' didn't 'accept responsibility,' and lied about their interaction -- saying 'this was not a 'conversation,' it was verbal assault.'
In his contentious exchange with Ocasio-Cortez, which was first reported by The Hill, the outlet reported that while confronting the congresswoman over her past comments about crime in New York City being propelled by the pandemic and poverty rather than a lack of policing, he called her 'disgusting' and 'out of her freaking mind.' He reportedly did not make the 'f------ b----' comment until after the two had parted ways, and was not speaking to anybody in particular when he made the comment.
However, his office denied those remarks, telling Politico the lawmaker had merely said, 'bulls---.'
Ocasio-Cortez's address Thursday was followed up by passionate speeches from 16 Democrats -- including the three fellow squad members Reps. Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib and Ayanna Pressley -- who praised the freshman rep for standing up to Yoho and said women are not going to put up with such attacks. Many females colleagues, as part of the historic class of women reps in Congress, recalled abusive language they've experienced in their lives and said it's not acceptable.
Aoc Floor Speech Yoho
'We are here to say that we will not allow sexism, misogyny and patriarchy to hold us back,' Omar, D-Minn., said. 'We will not apologize for advocating for women everywhere. We will not apologize for claiming the power that women deserved for centuries. And we will send a message to our daughters and their daughters, that they deserve fundamental equality.'
Ocasio Cortez Yoho Speech
Fox News' Tyler Olson contributed to this report.
Comments are closed.