During a home invasion last week, US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband Paul Pelosi was savagely beaten with a hammer. At the time of the break-in, the former was apparently in Washington with her protection detail. Following the event, Arizona Republican candidate for governor Kari Lake was chastised for making a joke about it.
Lake remarked during a campaign rally in Scottsdale on Monday on school security:
“It is not hard to safeguard our children at school, as they portray. Nancy Pelosi, well, she has security while she’s in DC, but her residence doesn’t seem to have any protection.”
She went on to say:
“If our MPs, politicians, and athletes can have safety, then clearly the most important people in our life – our children — should have protection.”
Although Lake managed to get laughs from the audience at her presentation, she was chastised online for the nature of her joke. According to reports, Paul Pelosi remained in critical condition on Monday after having skull surgery at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital. Meanwhile, his assailant, David DePape, was apprehended and charged with assault and attempted abduction. According to an FBI complaint filed against DePape, he attacked Paul Pelosi “with a purpose to retaliate against” Nancy Pelosi “on account of the discharge of official responsibilities.”
Twitter responds to Kari Lake’s assault on Paul Pelosi joke.
On Friday, Paul Pelosi generated widespread worry throughout the United States when he was struck with a hammer by a house invader named David DePape. He was hospitalized as a result of the event, which resulted in “severe injuries to his right arm and hands” as well as a “skull fracture.” While Pelosi recovered from surgery and remained in the intensive care unit, Arizona GOP gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake laughed about the incident during a campaign rally. Following her comments, numerous Twitter users called out the lawmaker for her joke:
She should blame Nancy Pelosi .. Bowser for not calling up National Guard!!!!!!! They let the chaos happen….Mother of Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick blames ‘people like Kari Lake’ for his deathhttps://t.co/D29Rj5jprX
— Kelly Reardon (@KellyReardon10) November 2, 2022
Kari Lake just now: “Nancy Pelosi, well, she’s got protection when she’s in DC — apparently her house doesn’t have a lot of protection.” The crowd burst into laughter and the interviewer was laughing so hard he covered his face with his notes. pic.twitter.com/JCBxbrpw9V
— Kate Sullivan (@KateSullivanDC) October 31, 2022
Despite the ensuing outrage, Kari Lake addressed her remarks during an appearance with Tucker Carlson. She stated:
“We can’t discuss any of these concerns because the media has informed us they’re forbidden.” You can’t speak about vaccinations, elections, Paul Pelosi, or Nancy Pelosi, and now you can’t talk about Nancy Pelosi.”
She went on:
“I’m referring to all of those things.”
Kari Lake’s address was also broadcast on CNN’s The Morning. Co-host Don Lemon slammed her statement as “vile,” and reporter Audie Cornish pointed out her audience:
“To be honest, the thing that scares me the most about Kari Lake is the crowd laughing.” Not the remark. That is our collective responsibility.”
Lemon also stated:
“The moderator, the guy sitting next to her, simply bellies laughing because he thinks something like that is amusing, and the crowd is also laughing.”
He also mentioned that other Republicans are making questionable comments regarding Paul Pelosi’s assault, calling the situation “awful”:
“There have been some Republican voices raised. Mitch McConnell and others, for example. [Kevin] McCarthy, but for the most part, it’s been pretty quiet, and there are individuals saying things, like Don Jr., tweeting things, but not even putting up the video of it. What they’re doing is heinous.”
Nancy Pelosi released a statement late Monday night stating that Paul Pelosi is “making steady improvement” but will have a “long rehabilitation journey.”