Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has hit back at a Republican politician for using women as “shields and excuses” after defending himself for an outburst he unleashed on the US congresswoman.
The Hill reported on Tuesday that Ted Yoho, who represents Florida, said “f**king bitch” in reference to Ocasio-Cortez after she linked economic insecurity to a rise in crime in New York.
Yoho initially denied the allegations and claimed he’d only told the New York representative she was “bullshit”.
In his statement on Wednesday, Yoho invoked his wife and daughters to make the claim that having women in his family makes him conscious of the ways women are belittled.
“Having been married for 45 years with two daughters, I’m very cognisant of my language,” Yoho claimed.
On Thursday, Ocasio-Cortez made clear that Yoho’s defence was an insult
She told Congress: “I do not need Representative Yoho to apologise to me.
“Clearly, he does not want to. But what I do have issue with is issuing women, or wives and daughters, as shields and excuses.
“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.”
Ocasio-Cortez said before sharing that her parents “did not raise me to accept abuse from men”.
She continued: “What Mr Yoho did was give permission for men to use that language against his daughters.
“Having a daughter does not make a man decent. Having a wife does not make a decent man. Treating people with dignity and respect makes a decent man.”
The congresswoman said the incident highlighted a culture of “impunity” that allows powerful men to make “dehumanising” comments about women, even when they are their colleagues.
“This kind of language is not new,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “I have tossed men out of bars that have used language like Mr Yoho’s.”
She added: “This is not new, and that is the problem.”
Yoho had said his offensive words were not spoken directly to the congresswoman.
“The offensive name-calling words attributed to me by the press were never spoken to my colleagues,” Yoho claimed.
“And if they were construed that way, I apologize for their misunderstanding.”
While offering some contrition, Yoho said he would not apologise for his “passion, loving my God, my family or my country.”