*Warning: graphic language*
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) doesn't consider her colleague Ted Yoho's (R-FL) apology anything of the sort. The two exchanged some words this week as they were passing one another on the steps of Capitol Hill. Yoho told AOC that it was "disgusting" for her to suggest that poverty and unemployment was to blame for the rise in crime in New York City during the coronavirus outbreak, and AOC responded by calling him "rude." Then, as alleged by a reporter from The Hill, Yoho also mumbled that AOC was a, "f***ing b**ch." Following the backlash to his supposed comments, Rep. Yoho said he was sorry for the "abrupt manner" of his conversation with the congresswoman, but said he will "not apologize" for his passion.
AOC rose on the House floor on Thursday to let Yoho know his words were not good enough. As she recalled, she was "minding her own business" when Rep. Yoho started waving his finger in her face and called her "crazy," "dangerous" and worse. She claimed that the congressman was leveling these expletives not only at her, but at every female lawmaker in the country, because every woman in politics has dealt with similar prejudice.
“I could not let that stand," she said. "I do not need Rep. Yoho to apologize to me. Clearly he did not want to…I will not stay up late at night waiting for an apology.”
NEW: @AOC on the House floor: "In front of reporters, Rep. Yoho called me, and I quote, 'a fucking bitch.' These are the words that Rep. Yoho levied against a congresswoman." https://t.co/oPpnIlvf5G pic.twitter.com/ncRKGPEfEw
— Evan McMurry (@evanmcmurry) July 23, 2020
“This is a pattern of a dehumanization of women and others,” Ocasio-Cortez added, accusing Yoho of simply "making excuses" for his actions.
She even likened Rep. Yoho to the men she used to throw out of bars when she worked as a bartender.
"My father, thankfully, is not alive to see how Mr. Yoho treated his daughter," she told her colleagues.
Rep. Ocasio-Cortez: "Mr. Yoho mentioned that he has a wife and two daughters. I am two years younger than Mr. Yoho's youngest daughter. I am someone's daughter, too. My father, thankfully, is not alive to see how Mr. Yoho treated his daughter." https://t.co/U2UIEaCljG pic.twitter.com/kk701q80zW
— ABC News (@ABC) July 23, 2020
This piece will be updated should Rep. Yoho respond to AOC's charges.