AOC scolds Yoho for not taking responsibility

Standing on the House floor Thursday, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez addressed comments made earlier this week by Rep. Ted Yoho, saying that his language was “dehumanizing” and criticizing his apology for using “women, wives, and daughters as shields and excuses for poor behavior.”

The Hill initially reported that Yoho confronted OcasioCortez in a Capitol staircase on Monday, telling her that she was “disgusting” for linking a rise in crime to the unemployment caused by the coronavirus outbreak. Yoho said “f——— b——,” as she left, according to The Hill.

On the House floor Wednesday, the Florida Republican denied that his use of profanity had been directed at Ocasio-Cortez and apologized for the “abrupt manner of the conversation” he had with her.

“Having been married for 45 years with two daughters, I'm very cognizant of my language,” he said. “The offensive namecalling 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.”

Rep. Yoho said that he was “passionate about those affected by poverty” because he was poor “for a time,” and that he could not “apologize for [his] passion.”

Bob Cu sack, editor-inchief for The Hill, responded to Yoho's denial, saying that “our story remains 100 percent accurate.”

Ocasio-Cortez responded to Rep. Yoho's apology via Twitter, saying that he was “refusing responsibility” and criticizing him for not naming her directly, as well as characterizing the exchange as a “conversation” instead of “verbal assault.”

Ocasio-Cortez said on the House floor Thursday that she initially planned to ignore Rep. Yoho's comments, but that she “could not allow” his apology on Wednesday to be “accepted as legitimate” by Congress.

“Rep. Yoho decided to come to the floor of the House of Representatives and make excuses for his behavior,” she said. “And that I could not let go. I could not allow my nieces, I could not allow the little girls that I go home to, I could not allow victims of verbal abuse and worse to see that.”

“Having a daughter does not make a man decent,” she said.

Ocasio-Cortez also criticized members of the Republican Party for speaking to her “disrespectfully,” in the past, and said that Rep. Roger Williams walking “shoulder to shoulder” with Rep. Yoho before Yoho accosted her was part of a larger “cultural” problem.