During an interview on KNPR 88.9 FM this morning, Congressman Mark Amodei (NV-2) was asked about a Reno Gazette-Journal report revealing how he had gone on “a profanity-laced tirade aimed at Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke” at a Churchill County Republican Party dinner just days before defending how his office got a high school student suspended for swearing on the phone while advocating for gun safety reforms.
In response, Amodei said today, “listen, I stand by it. It’s like, you know I’ve got a reputation as a plain talker. And so sometimes when I think that the use of words that may be not ‘Oh, gosh, gee whiz,’ then you know what, in public, I have used those words from time to time and I take complete responsibility for it.”
American Bridge spokesperson Andrew Bates reacted with the following statement:
“It is embarrassing for a tough-talking congressman to hold a 17-year-old student to a higher standard than themselves. Mark Amodei has a lot to learn about accountability, and Nevada voters will be happy to help him with that.”
Click HERE to listen to the audio of the exchange.
Transcript:
HOST: You know, after this incident, you told the L.A. Times, quote, “welcome to the world, where words have impact.”
AMODEI: Yeah.
HOST: Now, I want to refer to something that came out recently in the Reno Gazette-Journal and other places. A week after this incident with the student it’s reported that you had used some vulgarities during a Lincoln Day dinner in Churchill County. Are those reports true?
AMODEI: Yeah. I was reading off a text I sent to the Secretary of the Interior. I didn’t drop any F-bombs. Not that, you know, everybody’s definition of that is different. But quite frankly I wasn’t calling somebody one, I was referring to a situation in Nevada that I was incredibly frustrated with. And it’s like, listen, I stand by it. It’s like, you know I’ve got a reputation as a plain talker. And so sometimes when I think that the use of words that may be not “Oh, gosh, gee whiz,” then you know what, in public, I have used those words from time to time and I take complete responsibility for it.
Published: Mar 28, 2018