Democratic congressman Steve Cohen told a group of pastors last month that he hopes Republican congresswoman Marsha Blackburn jumps off a bridge.
Cohen, a representative from Tennessee, made the comments at a community prayer breakfast at the Broadway Baptist Church in Memphis. The breakfast was hosted by former Gov. Phil Bredesen, who is running for U.S. Senate against Blackburn.
“The big orange president …. He’s going to come down here and he is going to endorse Marsha Blackburn, because Marsha Blackburn, if he says, ‘Jump off the Harahan Bridge,’ she’ll jump off the Harahan Bridge,” Cohen said, according to audio obtained by the Huffington Post.
Cohen added, “I wish he’d say that.”
The Harahan bridge is a local bridge connecting Arkansas and Tennessee across the Mississippi river.
The pastors reportedly laughed at Cohen’s remarks.
Cohen told the Huffington Post that he was only joking when he said he wished Blackburn would jump off a bridge.
“It was obviously humor,” he asserted. “I wish her no harm. I hope she doesn’t get the Senate. And I wish she wasn’t a lackey for Trump. But I don’t wish her physical harm.”