Congressman Matt Gaetz was instantly condemned and mocked online after he suggested women protesting against Roe v Wade’s possible revocation by the Supreme Court were “under-loved millennials” with “no Bumble matches”.
The Republican, who remains under investigation for possible sex trafficking of minors – something he denies and says is politically motivated – tweeted on Wednesday morning after protests sprang up throughout the US in opposition to Roe being overturned.
“How many of the women rallying against overturning Roe are over-educated, under-loved millennials who sadly return from protests to a lonely microwave dinner with their cats, and no bumble matches?,” asked Mr Gaetz.
Many afterwards accused the congressman of being a “misogynist”, while others ridiculed Mr Gaetz for turning away younger voters.
“Just when you thought he couldn’t be more of a pathetic despicable loser… he says this,” one Twitter user argued. “He is a menace to a functioning democratic society. And what a fool. He just got every millennial to vote against Republicans. Buh bye.. loser.”
“The very concept that a woman can be ‘over-educated’ tells me all I need to know about this,” another wrote. “And the idea that the only women who want rights must be unattractive and frigid is the oldest misogynistic trope in the book. This is a sitting member of Congress.”
“He says this like it’s a bad thing,” a third person added. “I’ll take my cats over a man like this ANY day. Because they aren’t trying to take away my rights.”
Many others pointed to the ongoing Justice Department investigation involving Mr Gaetz, who denies claims he paid for a 17-year-old to travel with him for sex through Venmo payments allegedly processed by accused sex trafficker Joel Greenberg, as The DailyBeast reported last year.
Although no charges have been made against Mr Gaetz, one person wrote:“Wow. That’s not at all sexist or misogynistic. Hard to believe you’d have to pay for sex.”
A leaked draft opinion from the Supreme Court on Monday suggested the conservative-majority court could soon overturn Roe, the landmark 1973 ruling on abortion access in the US, sparking protests across the US in support of abortion.
Police in Los Angles said one officer was injured on Tuesday after 250 people marched peacefully in support of Roe. Another 1,000 people gathered outside the Supreme Court in Washington DC and smaller gatherings were held across the US, with no reports of incidents.
