'Why Would She Lie?': Elizabeth Warren Defends Bloomberg Accuser
Warren also got grilled unfairly by MSNBC’s Chris Matthews over her ‘accusation’ after the debate
Senator Elizabeth Warren once again wasted no time in confronting Michael Bloomberg about his problematic past during last night’s debate. She brought up his documented issue with pregnancy discrimination, where he allegedly told a pregnant saleswoman at his company to “kill it” in regard to the baby she was carrying.
Warren says the issue is “personal” to her, because when she was a public school teacher, she faced pregnancy discrimination. “I loved that job, and by the end of the first year, I was visibly pregnant,” she explained. “The principal wished me luck and gave my job to someone else. Pregnancy discrimination? You bet. But I was 21 years old, I didn’t have a union to protect me, and I didn’t have any federal law on my side.”
She then nodded in Bloomberg’s direction and said, “But at least I didn’t have a boss who said to me, ‘Kill it!’ the way Mayor Bloomberg is alleged to have said.”
Warren was referring to an allegation made by former Bloomberg employee Sekiko Sakai Garrison in a lawsuit against Bloomberg and the company. According to the lawsuit, when she told Bloomberg she was pregnant, he allegedly responded, “Kill it!” twice, and said, “Great! Number 16,” in reference to how many women at the company were on maternity leave at the time.
Bloomberg has denied making such a comment (though fellow employees have verified Garrison’s story), and Garrison and the company eventually reached a settlement.
“I never said it, period, end of story. Categorically, never said it,” Bloomberg said. “We couldn’t figure out what she was talking about. I’m sorry if she heard what she thought she heard or whatever happened, I didn’t take any pleasure in that, and we have to go on. Come on.”
During the debate last night, moderator Gayle King turned to Warren about “accusing” Bloomberg of saying such a thing, asking her what “evidence” she has that he asked a woman to get an abortion. And that, gentle readers, is where Senator Warren proved that although this debate was a shitshow, she still did not come to play with her response:
“Her own words.”
Imagine that — just believing a woman’s words about an unfortunate and painful situation where she has absolutely no reason to lie. BOOM.
Apparently this wasn’t enough for MSNBC’s Chris Matthews, who grilled Warren needlessly about that very thing on-camera after the debate.
Notice how, during this exchange and throughout the entire debate, Warren remains calm while men are talking all over her and interrupting her at every opportunity. She knows she has to be, because if she were to yell and talk out of turn like her male counterparts, she’d likely be labeled as “shrill” or “pushy” or “angry.”
Following last week’s debate in Nevada, Bloomberg has released three women from non-disclosure agreements after being pressed, publicly, by Elizabeth Warren to do so. Calm as she may be, the woman also gets things done. It’s practically presidential.
