Pelosi Declines To Condemn Richmond's Crude Conway Comment
- 7 years ago
House minority leader Nancy Pelosi refused to say that Democratic Congressman Cedric Richmond should apologize for controversial comments he made about White House counselor Kellyanne Conway.
House minority leader Nancy Pelosi refused to say that Democratic Congressman Cedric Richmond should apologize for controversial comments he made about White House counselor Kellyanne Conway.
When Pelosi was asked about his remarks on CNN’s 'State of the Union' Sunday, she told host Jake Tapper, “Well, I wasn't at the dinner. I'm just finding out about this...You all are criticizing Cedric for something he said in the course of the evening. And he maybe should be criticized for that. I just don't know the particulars.”
She went on to say, “I do, every day, marvel at the fact that somebody who said the gross and crude things that President Trump said, he wouldn't even be allowed in a frat house, and he's in the White House.”
This discussion came after Richmond, a Representative from Louisiana, made what the Washington Post calls “a cringe-worthy joke” at the Washington Press Club Foundation’s annual congressional dinner on Wednesday.
Referring to a photo of Conway kneeling on a sofa in the Oval Office, he said, in part, “...she really looked kind of familiar there in that position there….And I don't want you to refer back to the ’90s.”
He was responding to Republican Senator Tim Scott who had dismissed the controversy with Conway by saying, “You remember the '90s. That couch has had a whole lot of worse things.”
Richmond has since been criticized for his seemingly sexist comment, including by Chelsea Clinton who tweeted, “Despicable. I hope @KellyannePolls receives the apology she deserves-certainly never thought I'd write that & I mean every word.”
However, he has issued a statement saying, in part, “Where I grew up, saying that someone is looking or acting ‘familiar’ simply means that they are behaving too comfortably. I decided to use that joke due to the large social media backlash over her inappropriate posture considering there were more than 60 [historically black college and university] presidents in the room.”
House minority leader Nancy Pelosi refused to say that Democratic Congressman Cedric Richmond should apologize for controversial comments he made about White House counselor Kellyanne Conway.
When Pelosi was asked about his remarks on CNN’s 'State of the Union' Sunday, she told host Jake Tapper, “Well, I wasn't at the dinner. I'm just finding out about this...You all are criticizing Cedric for something he said in the course of the evening. And he maybe should be criticized for that. I just don't know the particulars.”
She went on to say, “I do, every day, marvel at the fact that somebody who said the gross and crude things that President Trump said, he wouldn't even be allowed in a frat house, and he's in the White House.”
This discussion came after Richmond, a Representative from Louisiana, made what the Washington Post calls “a cringe-worthy joke” at the Washington Press Club Foundation’s annual congressional dinner on Wednesday.
Referring to a photo of Conway kneeling on a sofa in the Oval Office, he said, in part, “...she really looked kind of familiar there in that position there….And I don't want you to refer back to the ’90s.”
He was responding to Republican Senator Tim Scott who had dismissed the controversy with Conway by saying, “You remember the '90s. That couch has had a whole lot of worse things.”
Richmond has since been criticized for his seemingly sexist comment, including by Chelsea Clinton who tweeted, “Despicable. I hope @KellyannePolls receives the apology she deserves-certainly never thought I'd write that & I mean every word.”
However, he has issued a statement saying, in part, “Where I grew up, saying that someone is looking or acting ‘familiar’ simply means that they are behaving too comfortably. I decided to use that joke due to the large social media backlash over her inappropriate posture considering there were more than 60 [historically black college and university] presidents in the room.”