John Fetterman says ‘that’s absurd’ in response to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez accusing him of bullying
Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania dismissed the criticism on Sunday after speaking out on social media about an argument in the House Oversight Committee in which Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene attacked the actions of a Democratic colleague.
Some in the senator’s own party are not happy with his take on the heated altercation that occurred when the Georgia lawmaker went after Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett’s “fake eyelashes” during a hearing late Thursday.
Fetterman posted a headline from the House meeting that read, “House Committee Meeting Descends into Chaos as Greene and Ocasio-Cortez Argue.”
The Democratic senator wrote with the headline X ‘In the past I have described the US House as The Jerry Springer Show. Today I apologize to The Jerry Springer Show.”
But Ocasio-Cortez, who serves on the House Oversight Committee, wasn’t having it and responded to Fetterman with a repost also to X.
Progressive Congressman Ocasio-Cortez accuses Fetterman of bullying over his post on X about the House Oversight Committee row in which Rep. Greene attacked a colleague’s appearance
“I understand that you probably would not have stood up for your colleague and that you seem confused that racism and misogyny are a ‘both sides’ issue,” the New York congresswoman wrote.
“But I stand up to bullies, instead of becoming one. And to the women of Pennsylvania, I would stand up for you too,” she added.
During an appearance on CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday, Fetterman was asked about the post and Ocasio-Cortez’s response accusing him of bullying.
“Of course that’s absurd,” Fetterman said.
“I was just reacting to the kind of chaos and everything that Rep. Greene started,” he continued.
Senator John Fetterman was asked about Ocasio Cortez accusing him of bullying on CNN. His response to the accusation was ‘that’s absurd’
Fetterman’s post on
Rep. Ocasio-Cortez responded to Fetterman’s opinion by suggesting he is a bully
Fetterman said that if everyone on the committee was proud of what they produced, “they were entitled to their opinions.”
He also suggested that if this is the type of video they want to send to eighth grade social studies students across America, “that’s their choice.”
Fetterman said if he were to push back on anything, it would be against Hamas. He also mentioned pushing back on Vladimir Putin and voting against aid to Israel and Ukraine.
The exchange that Fetterman posted about on
Shortly afterwards, Ocasio-Cortez also intervened and demanded that Greene’s words be removed. She said it was unacceptable and hit out at Greene: “How dare you attack someone else’s physical appearance!”
Greene went on to taunt the New York congresswoman and asked if her feelings were hurt.
“Oh girl, girl,” Ocasio-Cortez shot back. “Don’t even play.”
The committee did not remove Greene’s comments.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., ridiculed her black Democratic colleague’s actions during a late-night hearing Thursday
Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, hit back at Greene, asking the committee chair whether personal attacks such as “if anyone on this committee then starts talking about someone’s bleach blonde, poorly built, toned body” would violate the rules
Rep. Ocasio-Cortez jumped to Rep. Crockett’s defense on Thursday after Greene’s attack on her performance, calling it “absolutely unacceptable.” She could be heard responding to Greene’s taunting with “oh girl, baby girl.” She then told Greene ‘don’t even play’
In another eye-opening moment, shortly after Crockett asked the committee chairman:If someone in this committee then starts talking about someone’s pale blonde, poorly built, sturdy body, that would be against the rules.
She did not mention Greene by name, but it is widely believed that Greene was the target of her jab.
Since the hearing, Crockett has called Greene’s attacks on her appearance “racist” and said she would be disrespected.
Crockett said Sunday that she does not regret her response and that she “absolutely” believes the attack was racist.
Ocasio-Cortez wasn’t the only Democratic lawmaker in the House of Representatives to take issue with Fetterman’s social media post.
Congresswoman Veronica Escobar, D-TX, also took issue with his post on X.
‘Women of color in Congress are often targeted by misogynistic, xenophobic, ignorant people. I’ve been through it,” she wrote. “One of the shameless extremists we work with has insulted parliamentary procedure and demanded a standard of decency. There is no ‘both sides’