While President Trump was away on his first foreign trip, the state of Montana held a special election. And by now, you probably know about the Republican candidate vying for the state's only seat in the U.S. House of Representatives who allegedly body-slammed a reporter.
No, this is not a joke. GOP candidate Greg Gianforte was asked by The Guardian's Ben Jacobs what he thought of the Congressional Budget Office's score of the Republican healthcare bill. Gianforte allegedly reacted by assaulting Jacobs, grabbing him by the neck and throwing him to the ground just hours before the polls opened.
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The candidate was charged with misdemeanor assault and will appear in court soon. But, fun fact: Gianforte ended up winning the special election.
During last night's episode of Full Frontal, comedian Samantha Bee tried to make sense of it all.
"Jesus, Greg! A body slam? If you don't want to answer questions about Trump's agenda, just hide in the bushes like Sean Spicer," she said. "This bring us to our segment Toxic Testosterone: Democracy 2017."
Throughout the segment, Bee broke down what happened and why, saying that despite what some people may say, the alleged body-slam was not President Trump's fault.
First, Bee started off by pointing out that Gianforte released a statement that directly contradicted Jacobs' retelling of the events and an audio recording of the incident.
She said, "But after Greedo-shot-first story fell apart and he had safely won the election, he apologized... kind of."
Cut to Gianforte apologizing about 24 hours after the assault, saying it was a "mistake."
But Bee was having none of it. She said, "Calling an unprovoked body-slam a 'mistake' is like a rapist saying 'I tripped and my dick fell into her.'"
However, most Republican pundits across all TV networks said Gianforte had made a mistake. And it wasn't only talking heads either — Montana residents defended the candidate's actions to the point of suggesting that maybe reporters like Jacobs "had it coming."
But Bee was quick to point out to "cold brew-sipping Brooklynites" that elected officials being violent is not something that only happens in Middle America. In fact, who could forget former Republican Rep. Michael Grimm, who threatened to throw a reporter "off this fucking balcony" and break them in half "like a boy." Grimm, who hailed from the borough of Staten Island in New York City, was reelected to a third term in office just days after the incident. (He was later convicted of tax evasion.)
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The conversation about Gianforte and violence against journalists inevitably turned to President Trump, with several pundits saying he had "created this culture." But Bee disagreed.
"Say what you like about Trump, he doesn't physically assault male reporters," Bee said. "Did he provide a focus for road-rage culture? Sure. He rode into office on a wave of assholes like a crowd surfer on a Kid Rock concert. But here has always been an undercurrent of testosterone-filled cruelty in America."
She added, "The triumphant impunity of Gamergate trolls, the Bundy occupiers, and George Zimmerman told America's shy bullies, 'It's okay. You're accepted, be yourself. We won't judge you — neither will a judge.'"
Her point, she said, was this: "We can't just wait for moral leadership from a guy who thinks shooting people on Fifth Avenue is an applause line."
Bee urged people to use the body-slamming incident as an inspiration to take action.
"We are all Jennifer Lawrence in Winter's Bone now," she continued. "Unless we want to end up like Jennifer Lawrence in that other movie where everyone kicks the shit out of each other to survive while the nice guy hides in the mud hoping no one sees him."
She concluded, "Let's not let the District 1 assholes always win."
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