U.S. Rep. Ted Yoho on Wednesday delivered a half-hearted attempt at an apology on the House floor after a reporter heard him use a profane and derogatory language to describe U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez after the two congress members had a heated exchange on the steps of the Capitol.
On Thursday, Ocasio-Cortez responded.
“I do not need Representative Yoho to apologize to me. Clearly he does not want to. Clearly when given the opportunity he will not. And I will not stay up late at night waiting for an apology from a man who has no remorse over calling women & using abusive language towards women.”
“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 speech 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.”
