Throughout the Biden presidency, Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., has served as a swing voter on a narrowly divided Senate, and she’s been limiting the overreach of President Joe Biden’s administration.
That has left Democrats steaming mad… and one commentator may have gone too far.
Robert Reich, the Clinton administration’s former labor secretary, called for Sinema to be slammed… literally.
“Tonight, Republican senators lined up to shake Kyrsten Sinema’s hand,” he tweeted on Wednesday.
“Democratic senators should have given her the backs of their hands.”
In other words, Reich says he wants to beat women that speak up. On social media, Reich was slammed for advocating violence against women. He deleted the tweet, but he did not apologize.
“I deleted a tweet because it was widely misinterpreted and distorted by conservative media,” he said. “‘Back of the hand’ is an idiom for rebuke. I wholeheartedly condemn violence against women.”
Some Twitter users accused him of hypocrisy in light his past tweets about violence against women.
Other Twitter users, humorously, speculated that Sinema could beat Reich in a physical fight. After all, Sinema is a long-distance triathlete. Plus, she’s thirty years younger, and she appears to be several inches taller than the diminutive Reich.
Take a look —
Last night I deleted a tweet because it was widely misinterpreted and distorted by conservative media. "Back of the hand" is an idiom for rebuke. I wholeheartedly condemn violence against women.
— Robert Reich (@RBReich) January 20, 2022
stay classy and keep advocating for violence against women, @RBReich pic.twitter.com/RSZil8wTGB
— Jessica O’Donnell 🏈 (@heckyessica) January 20, 2022
Robert Reich is 4'11". If he wanted to backhand Sinema, he'd need a set of doggie stairs. pic.twitter.com/GY04IzCufX
— Noam Blum (@neontaster) January 20, 2022
Liberal hypocrisy at its finest. https://t.co/acFHzS9u0d
— Julia 🇺🇸 (@Jules31415) January 20, 2022
Reich remains best known for his stint as labor secretary from 1993 to 1997, and he also served as an economic advisor to former President Barack Obama. Now, he teaches public policy at University of California, Berkeley.
He maintains an online presence, and he often goes viral on TikTok. On Twitter and YouTube, he often argues for “progressive” causes like universal basic income, a $15 minimum wage, and — apparently — violence against women.
The Horn editorial team