AOC praised for patient smiling and nodding while talking to GOP opponent who posted anime of him killing her
Observers praised New York congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for appearing to have a long, cordial conversation on Tuesday in Congress with Paul Gosar, an Arizona Republican who was censured in 2021 for posting a violent anime parody video showing him killing AOC with two swords.
this is quite the conversation pic.twitter.com/ns8arkHdT4
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) January 3, 2023
“Paul Gosar was censured by the House for tweeting a video of AOC being killed,” one Twitter user wrote of the exchange. “This speaks to her magnanimity.”
Others wondered what the pair might be discussing.
“Oh to hear this conversation right now,” quipped Heather Caygle, an editor at Punchbowl News.
Any body language or lip-reading experts wanna weigh in on this conversation between AOC and Paul Gosar just now? pic.twitter.com/Kb3Sx0Os3x
— Cabot Phillips (@cabot_phillips) January 3, 2023
At the time of the incident, Representative Ocasio-Cortez sharply criticised the Arizona Republican for his violent rhetoric.
“It’s pretty cut and dry: does anyone in this chamber find this behavior acceptable?” she said in a speech on the House fllor. “Would you allow that in your home? And if it’s not accepted there, why is it accepted here?”
“It's pretty cut and dry: does anyone in this chamber find this behavior acceptable? Would you allow that in your home? And if it's not accepted there, why is it accepted here?”
Watch Rep. AOC’s full speech on Rep. Gosar’s censure below. pic.twitter.com/EdGWwFHOGy— Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@RepAOC) November 17, 2021
Things were far less cordial in the House chamber itself on Tuesday morning, where Republican House Speaker candidate Kevin McCarthy failed to secure enough votes from his own party for the speaker’s gavel in the first round, a sign of divisions within the GOP caucus.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated with new information.
