In a time when consumers are incredibly worried and concerned about their health and their loved ones, and availability of essential items is already at an all time low, one Democrat thought it would be a good idea to joke about withholding items from a “red” state.
Rep. Tom Malinowski of New Jersey cracked a “joke” during a livesteam with his constituents, stating that his own district (one packed with logistics and manufacturing) should withhold critical items from Republican-led states.
“A fun fact about Somerset County — we make 100 percent of the national supply of Lysol disinfectant,” Malinowski said in the video posted by SaveJersey.com.
Lysol parent company Reckitt Benckiser has a plant in Hillsborough Township, N.J.
He went on to indicate that it would be funny if his home state withheld those critical supplies from other states, including Kentucky. Kentucky’s crime – and the reason for the withholding of essentials? It is home to Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
Malinowski went on to say that the Lysol so needed in hard hit Kentucky should be withheld until McConnell caved to Democrat demands for vote-by mail measures. These demands also arrive as many in the nation are fearful of illness, of the ravages of the pandemic and of the growing shortages of critical supplies.
Not everyone found Malinowski’s joking funny.
“While Americans are putting their political differences aside to work together, @Malinowski admitted he’s fantasized about withholding coronavirus-killing disinfectants from Kentuckians to stick it to @senatemajldr. #NJ07,” one user tweeted.
Malinowski was quick to defend his words, but simply reiterated the threat.
“I thought about using that with, like Mitch McConnell,” he went on. “Like, ‘Hey, you know, we’re going to hold up the Lysol to Kentucky until you pass our election security bill.'”
Malinowski continued to double down on his “joke” stating that his own constituents thought it was funny, and gave him the “thumbs up” during his droning livestream. He did finally concede: “I think that’s a fantasy and I don’t think it’s going to work that way.”
This is a relief for the people in the hard hit state of Kentucky, who are already facing shortages and don’t need a minor politician from New Jersey making things even worse to get his own way.
The National Republican Congressional Committee was quick to call out Malinowski, calling his comments “disgusting.”
“[Malinowski] admitted he’s fantasized about withholding coronavirus-killing disinfectants from Kentuckians to stick it to [McConnell],” they wrote on Twitter Thursday.
Democrats have already been under fire for trying to slow the progress of much needed aid in order to insert their own demands about elections, funds and other issues into what should be immediate aid bills. Malinowski’s “jokes” simply make a bad situation worse, and could even lead to fears of continued shortages of key supplies based on compliance by politicians.
