The New York congresswoman clapped back at Arizona Representative Paul Gosar, for a graphic animated video that depicted him as an anime character, attacking her.
New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, 32, responded to Arizona Rep. Paul Gosar, 62, after the congressman shared a disturbing video on Sunday November 7, where he interspersed various footage from news events with the intro to Attack On Titan and depicted himself and other Republican politicians battling Ocasio-Cortez and President Joe Biden. The New York congresswoman was particularly disturbed by an image of Gosar’s character attacking and killing a character with her face poorly superimposed over it. Ocasio-Cortez responded on Monday November 8 by criticizing the GOP, saying that Gosar probably won’t face any consequences.
Gosar shared the video on Sunday, and asked his followers: “Any anime fans out there?” The clip also features Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert and Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene with their faces plastered over other characters. Its interspersed with real-life footage of soldiers and protests, as well as photos of former President Donald Trump, Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, and himself. Twitter has flagged the video and gives a warning, but the social media platform still allows viewers to click and see. “This Tweet violated the Twitter Rules about hateful conduct. However, Twitter has determined that it may be in the public’s interest for the Tweet to remain accessible,” the warning says.
So while I was en route to Glasgow, a creepy member I work with who fundraises for Neo-Nazi groups shared a fantasy video of him killing me
And he’ll face no consequences bc @GOPLeader cheers him on with excuses.
Fun Monday! Well, back to work bc institutions don’t protect woc
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) November 9, 2021
Ocasio-Cortez quote-tweeted a response by California congressman Ted Lieu, where he called the video an example of “sick behavior,” and noted that in most workplaces, this would be grounds for firing. AOC pointed out how disturbing the video is, especially coming from Gosar”So while I was en route to Glasgow, a creepy member I work with who fundraises for Neo-Nazi groups shared a fantasy video of him killing me,” she wrote. “And he’ll face no consequences bc [GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy] cheers him on with excuses.”
The congresswoman also listed various incidents where she was made to feel unsafe at work by her Republican colleagues, including former Florida congressman Ted Yoho, and Greene herself. “Fun Monday! Well, back to work bc institutions don’t protect [women of color],” she wrote, pointing out how shocking it is that she has gone through all of this at work from colleagues. “All at my job & nothing ever happens.”
This dude is a just a collection of wet toothpicks anyway.
White supremacy is for extremely fragile people &sad men like him, whose self concept relies on the myth that he was born superior because deep down he knows he couldn’t open a pickle jar or read a whole book by himself
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) November 9, 2021
After reminding followers of some of the treatment she received from her GOP colleagues, Ocasio-Cortez brushed off the disturbing video with a perfect response to Gosar, calling him “a collection of wet toothpicks,” and explained why some people follow white supremacist ideas. “White supremacy is for extremely fragile people &sad men like him, whose self concept relies on the myth that he was born superior because deep down he knows he couldn’t open a pickle jar or read a whole book by himself,” she wrote.
California Congressman Adam Schiff addressed the video during an appearance on The View on Tuesday November 9. He said that it was unacceptable for Gosar to portray violence against Ocasio-Cortez. Like the congresswoman, Schiff noted how Gosar likely wouldn’t face repercussions. “He has no business being in congress. He should have never been elected. Sadly, the Republican conference is now characterized by numerous kooks and dangerous cranks, which he is one,” he said. “Paul Gosar creates this video, glorifying violence against one of our colleagues, whose already been the subject of death threats, and that’s perfectly okay.”
Sciff continued to discuss the January 6 riots at the Capitol, and violence caused from Republicans who lied about election fraud. “They are repeatedly glorifying violence. It’s not as if this is without the backdrop of the violence of January 6. In fact, when they go out and they spread this big lie about the election, and they tell Americans basically, ‘We can’t trust our elections anymore. Any election we lose is rigged.’ They’re basically saying, ‘If we can’t rely on our elections to decide who governs, what’s left but violence?’ And, that’s just dangerous,” he said.
