Is she or isn’t she…telling the truth, that is? When a respected reporter for Politico said he doubted claims of Capitol Hill sexism made by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), he was berated and forced to apologize for his “moronic tweet.”
Via Time online, we learn of specific, crude comments made toward Sen. Gillibrand, raunchy remarks she says have been directed her way by a number of her male colleagues in the upper chamber. The revelations come from a new book by Gillibrand — Off the Sidelines, published by People — that hits the shelves on September 9.
Among the more eye-catching comments Gillibrand says she has endured:
“Good thing you’re working out because you wouldn’t want to get porky,” Gillibrand says one colleague told her in the congressional gym….
After she lost weight following a pregnancy, Gillibrand writes that one male colleague squeezed her waist and implored: “Don’t lose too much weight now, I like my girls chubby.”
When these excerpts were revealed, Politico congressional reporter John Bresnahan was quick to fire off a skeptical response on twitter, as noted by Talking Points Memo. Then, following a barrage of twitter criticism, Bresnahan backed down with an abject apology.
Completely moronic tweet by me on People magazine piece re Sen. Gillibrand. No excuse for popping off. I apologize.
— John Bresnahan (@BresPolitico) August 28, 2014
In the People magazine article on the Gillibrand book and his controversial contents, the New York senator says she would enthusiastically support Hillary Clinton’s run for the presidency. It’s was Clinton’s former senate seat in New York that Gillibrand now occupies.