Freshman Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) bolted from reporters Friday when asked to comment on her vow to impeach President Donald Trump, despite doubling down on the controversial remark in a pair of statements issued hours earlier.
Flanked by several staffers, Tlaib refused to respond to questions about whether she stood by her remark, in which she referred to President Trump as a “motherfucker.”
“If you’re unapologetic about your comments, Congresswoman, why not talk to us?” one reporter asked the Michigan Democrat.
“Do you stand by your comments?” asked another.
Tlaib, instead of offering a response, fled by, walking quickly down a flight of stairs near the Capitol Building.
Tlaib seemingly stood behind her remark Friday, affirming on Twitter that she will “always speak truth to power.”
Shortly after, the Michigan Democrat issued a statement refusing to apologize for the comment and reiterated that impeachment is “absolutely” necessary.
Addressing a reception organized by progressive advocacy group MoveOn.org Thursday evening, Tlaib, who was sworn in as a congresswoman hours earlier, pledged to remove President Trump from office, stating: “[W]e’re going to go in there and we’re going to impeach the motherfucker.”
Several top Democrat, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, criticized Tlaib’s coarse language, while reiterating party leaders are not ready to begin impeachment proceedings against the president. “I don’t like the language,” the speaker told MSNBC’s Joy Reid at a Friday town hall. In an interview with CNN’s New Day, Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) echoed the speaker’s remarks, telling host John Berman: “I don’t really like that kind of language.”
“More to the point, I disagree with what she said. It is too early to talk about that, intelligently. We have to follow the fact. We need to get the facts,” Nadler continued. “That’s why it’s important to protect the Mueller investigation, that’s why it’s important to do our own inquiry. We have to get the facts, and we’ll see where the facts lead. Maybe that’ll lead to impeachment or maybe it won’t.”