House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is addressing the verbal attack by Rep. Ted Yoho (R-Fla.) on Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez this week in which Yoho reportedly called AOC a “f***ing b****” — a remark his spokesperson denied.
In her weekly press conference, Pelosi began by noting that the backlash to Yoho’s behavior came as Congress is hammering out a coronavirus relief bill, saying, “The fact that the behavior of one of the members is such that the whole women’s’ caucus, the 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.”
She continued, “It’s a manifestation of attitudes in our society, really. I can tell you that first-hand — they’ve called me names for at least 20 years of leadership, 18 years of leadership.”
Pelosi added, “You’d say to them, ‘Do you not have a daughter, do you not have a mother, do you not have a sister, do you not have a wife? What makes you think that you can be so … condescending in addition to being disrespectful.'”
The speaker recalled her own experiences, saying, “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.”
Watch the video below:
"Nothing is more wholesome for our government… than the increased participation of women and women will be treated with respect," Speaker Pelosi says, after Rep. Yoho reportedly used derogatory language toward Rep. Ocasio-Cortez on the Capitol steps. https://t.co/T4YQWjTGZl pic.twitter.com/0B2wHajAOd
— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) July 23, 2020
Pelosi’s remarks came after Ocasio-Cortez blasted Yoho on the floor of the House on Thursday, saying, “This kind of language is not new. I have encountered words uttered by Mr. Yoho and men uttering the same words as Mr. Yoho while I was being harassed in restaurants.”
Ocasio-Cortez said Yoho’s remarks were not “deeply hurtful” and added, “I have tossed men out of bars that have used language like Mr. Yoho’s, and I have encountered this type of harassment riding the subway in New York City.”