Democratic Party Senator Tom Carper has given Twitter something to laugh about as he got caught cursing on a hot mic at a virtual Senate hearing after getting “frustrated with technical difficulties.”
The 73-year-old Carper (D-Delaware) was shown swearing at his assistant after seemingly thinking his live feed wasn’t functioning properly – except it was.
“F**k, f**k, f**k,” Carper is heard saying, before an aide moves in to help him. The entire exchange was livestreamed to the Senate.
Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wisconsin) tried to move on to another senator for questioning while Carper dealt with his “technical difficulties.”
Senator Tom Carper curses at his staff member cuz he can’t figure out how to unmute himself. Calm down, sir. pic.twitter.com/p3cvkEp0BU
“I think Sen. Carper is there, I think he’s trying to cue it all up right now,” Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Oklahoma) quickly said.
“We don’t want to be on TV again,” Johnson later added, before moving back to Carper. The Delaware senator then moved right into his questioning without acknowledging the outburst.
Many took the video in stride and deemed it a fitting metaphor for 2020.
“Senator Tom Carper yelling ‘f**k f**k f**k’ is 2020 in a nutshell,” author Tomi T. Ahonen tweeted.
“In a way, he was just summing up the year 2020 in 3 words,” reporter Steve Keeley added.
We are all Tom Carper in 2020. Keep up the good work, Senator!
Regarding Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE): A person cursing up a storm over technical difficulties getting through on a Zoom meeting really sums up the American mood in 2020. https://t.co/VrSFygJfqN
Delaware’s Tom Carper with America’s morning mood. https://t.co/AATR2ASqvs
Carper’s staff were given some sympathy following the video, too, considering what the video suggests they may have to deal with.
This can’t really be the way Delaware Senator Tom Carper (D) treats his staff, can it? pic.twitter.com/cSjsY2bDqw
The glamorous life of Hill staffers…
Others more familiar with Carper used his moment in the spotlight to highlight a past comment from the senator where he admitted to hitting his wife in the 1970s, a decision he has said on multiple occasions he “regrets.”
Dem Senator Tom Carper Admitted to Giving His Ex-Wife a Black Eye https://t.co/ZB0cJSG20C
As for the cursing incident, a spokeswoman for the senator defended Carper saying he got frustrated by technology “like most Americans in 2020.” They also used it as an opportunity to slam Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, who was being questioned at the senate hearing.
“Senator Carper got frustrated with technical difficulties this morning, but that pales in comparison to his frustration with a Postmaster General who’s actively undermining the US Postal Service during a national crisis,” the spokeswoman said.
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