House

GOP lawmaker mocks Kavanaugh accusation, jokes that Ruth Bader Ginsburg claimed she was groped by Lincoln

by Justin Wise - 09/20/18 2:34 PM ET

Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) on Thursday mocked the sexual misconduct accusations brought against President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh.

“Did you hear about this?” Norman, who has represented South Carolina’s 5th Congressional District since 2017, said at an election debate, according to The Post and Courier.

{mosads}“Ruth Bader Ginsburg came out saying she was groped by Abraham Lincoln,” he quipped about the 85-year-old Supreme Court Justice.

The newspaper noted that the comment sparked nervous laughter at the venue in which the debate was being held. But South Carolina Democrats quickly blasted the remark as “inappropriate.”

Norman’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Hill.

“Ralph Norman just proved he may be rich but he doesn’t have any class,” Democratic Party Chairman Trav Robertson tweeted. “Inappropriate doesn’t describe his remarks.”

@jslovegrove Ralph Norman just proved he may be rich but he doesn’t have any class. His opening joke about RBG’s comments on the Kavanaugh hearings—“RBG, I don’t know what the problem is…Abe Lincoln grouped me…” inappropriate doesn’t describe his remarks.

— Trav Robertson (@TravRobertson) September 20, 2018

Former South Carolina Democratic Party Chairman Jaime Harrison also blasted the remark, saying “now sexual assault is a punchline for a stupid joke!”

“Disgusting but coming from Norman… expected!” he added.

So now sexual assault is a punchline for a stupid joke! Disgusting but coming from Norman… expected! https://t.co/MxZHPwuLsB

— Jaime Harrison (@harrisonjaime) September 20, 2018

Norman’s Democratic opponent in this year’s midterm election, Archie Parnell, also slammed the comment in a statement to The Post and Courier.

“My opponent apparently thinks sexual assault is a joke. It is not,” Parnell said. “But I guess that’s the best we can expect from someone who pulled a loaded gun on his own constituents.”

Norman sparked controversy earlier this year when he brandished a loaded pistol at a meeting with constituents to make a point about the dangers of firearms, the paper notes.

The newspaper noted that Parnell did not however respond to Norman’s comments during the debate.