Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke called out a woman who interrupted his speech on the future of U.S. energy to ask a question about Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.
“You know, really that’s so inappropriate. It is,” Zinke told the woman who stood up and disrupted his speech at the National Clean Energy Week summit. “Please sit down.”
The unidentified woman stood up while Zinke spoke about the potential for offshore wind turbines in the Atlantic Ocean, asking the secretary whether or not Kavanaugh should be investigated for alleged sexual assault and whether or not he believes accuser Christine Blasey Ford.
“You know, the nice thing about debate in our country … ” Zinke said as the woman continued to press him on Kavanaugh. “The nice thing about debate is this — it’s never nice to be rude.”
Blasey Ford accused Kavanaugh of sexual assault at a high school party over 35 years ago in which she claims he tried to take off her clothing and force himself on her. Democrats called for an FBI investigation into the matter, and a Senate hearing is set for Thursday. (RELATED: California Is Ready To Shell Out More Taxpayer Cash To Prop Up Electric Car Sales)
Republicans have largely defended Kavanaugh against the more than three-decade-old allegation, calling it an attempt to tarnish the federal judge’s reputation. President Donald Trump nominated Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court on July 9.
Kavanaugh has denied the alleged sexual assault ever occurred, and the witnesses Blasey Ford claimed were also at the party have said they have no recollection of the gathering she described. Blasey Ford also does not remember the place or date of the alleged incident.
While the identity of the woman who interrupted Zinke’s speech is unclear, environmental activists echoed her comments on Twitter. They sent out similar tweets on the incident, attacking Zinke.
A woman just asked @SecretaryZinke whether or not Kavanaugh should be investigated and if he believes Blasey-Ford. His response? “That’s inappropriate. Sit down. It’s not nice to be rude.” #RespectWomen #InvestigateZinke Watch here: https://t.co/d5cWbSTR2p
— Keven Kennedy (@KevenKennedy) September 26, 2018
.@SecretaryZinke, who knows a thing or two about investigations, just told a woman to “sit down” & “it;s not nice to be rude” when asked whether or not he believed Kavanaugh should be investigated. #RespectWomen #InvestigateZinke https://t.co/tvs90Z8BUz
— Clean Water Action (@cleanh2oaction) September 26, 2018
.@SecretaryZinke, who knows a thing or two about investigations, just told a woman to “sit down” & “it’s not nice to be rude” when asked whether or not he believed Kavanaugh should be investigated. #InvestigateZinke #ZinkeScandal https://t.co/ijfA5lQtf8
— WVP (@Western_Values) September 26, 2018
Zinke’s office declined to comment on his speech being interrupted.
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