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A Republican congressman from South Carolina was criticized for making a joke about Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg, claiming that the 85-year-old was "groped" by Abraham Lincoln.
Congressman Ralph Norman was referring to recent allegations against Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh, President Trump's candidate for the Supreme Court. Christine Blasey Ford, a California research psychologist, said that Judge Kavanaugh had sexually assaulted her in high school.
"Have you all heard the latest news regarding Kavanaugh's hearings?" Said Mr. Norman to the crowd at a Kiwanis meeting Thursday in Rock Hill, South Carolina.
A video of his comments was posted on the website of The Herald newspaper in Rock Hill. Mr. Norman was discussing his Democratic challenger, Archie Parnell.
The Democrats quickly criticized the congressman. "Ralph Norman has just proven that he may be rich but he does not have a class," said Trav Robertson, president of the Democratic Party of South Carolina. said in a tweet.
Even the Kiwanis, who hosted the debate, have distanced themselves from Mr. Norman, write on Twitter that his statements "do not reflect the objects of Kiwanis".
Norman won a special election last year in the 5th district of South Carolina and is running for reelection. A spokesman for Norman declined to comment, saying the congressman had sent his remarks on Twitter.
"My comments earlier today were meant to add a bit of lightness to a very serious debate," Norman said. tweeted thursday, adding that "people really have to learn to enlighten themselves".
Judge Ginsburg, the second woman to become a Supreme Court justice, was appointed by Bill Clinton in 1993. She has long championed equal rights for women.
Mr. Norman's opponent, Mr. Parnell, had his own problems with the abuse. This year, The Post and Courier He obtained divorce records stating that he had repeated that he had hit his wife in 1973. Mr. Parnell did not deny the allegations, asserting to the newspaper: "There are forty- five years old, while I was still a student, I 've been doing something day since.
Despite the admission, Mr. Parnell easily won the Democratic primary in June. Thursday, he tweeted The sexual assault was not funny, Norman added, "but I guess that's what we can expect from someone who shot a gun at his own constituents."
In April, Mr. Norman attended a breakfast with voters from Rock Hill when he pulled a pistol out of his blazer pocket, laid it on the table and asked the participants to They felt safer. according to news reports. The gun is lingering on the table for several minutes.
A representative of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, who was present at the meeting, said the initiative was intended to intimidate the advocacy group.
The congressman later said he had no intention of threatening anyone.
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