Rep. Cedric Richmond (D-LA) said Wednesday that White House adviser Kellyanne Conway “looked kind of familiar” kneeling on the Oval Office couch.
Richmond jokingly made a comment during the Washington Press Club Foundation dinner about a photo of Conway kneeling on the Oval Office couch to take a picture of President Trump with the presidents of historically black colleges, according to the Washington Post.
Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) joked earlier in the dinner that “a whole lot worse” had happened on that couch in the 1990s, referencing former President Bill Clinton’s affair with then-White House intern Monica Lewinsky, the Washington Times reported.
“You even mentioned Kellyanne and that picture on that sofa,” Richmond said in response to Scott. “I really want to know what was going on there because she really looked kind of familiar in that position there, but don’t answer.”
Richmond’s joke was not well-received by the crowd and on social media.
In a statement, Richmond later clarified what he meant to say.
“Since some people have interpreted my joke to mean something that it didn’t I think it is important to clarify what I meant, ” he told the Post. “Where I grew up saying that someone is looking or acting ‘familiar’ simply means that they are behaving too comfortably.”
Ronna Romney McDaniel, the head of the Republican National Committee, was not swayed by the Louisiana congressman’s statement.
She wrote on Twitter that the comments are “disgusting and offensive” and demanded the congressman “apologize” instead of clarifying his remarks.