Mississippi Senator In Runoff Jokes About Sitting In ‘Front Row’ Of ‘Public Hanging’

Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (L) stands on stage with US President Donald Trump at a "Make America Great Again" rally at Landers Center in Southaven, Mississippi, on October 2, 2018. (Photo by MANDEL NGAN / AFP) (... Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (L) stands on stage with US President Donald Trump at a "Make America Great Again" rally at Landers Center in Southaven, Mississippi, on October 2, 2018. (Photo by MANDEL NGAN / AFP) (Photo credit should read MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images) MORE LESS
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Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), who is currently campaigning in a runoff election for that seat against Democratic challenger Mike Espy, joked in a video published Sunday that if a cattle rancher she was campaigning with “invited me to a public hanging, I’d be on the front row.”

“If he invited me to a public hanging, I’d be on the front row,” Hyde-Smith said while standing next to Colin Hutchinson. Lamar White Jr., publisher of The Bayou Brief, tweeted video of the Hyde-Smith’s comment Sunday and identified Hutchinson. TPM has reached out to Hyde-Smith’s campaign for comment.

Hyde-Smith has been a senator since April; she was appointed to the seat after incumbent Sen. Thad Cochran (R-MS) resigned due to health concerns. The current race between her and Espy will determine who serves the rest of Cochran’s term, through January 2021. The runoff Senate election — the result of neither Hyde-Smith nor Espy earning more than 50 percent of the vote on Election Day — will take place on Nov. 27.

Hyde-Smith’s comment immediately drew harsh criticism, given Mississippi’s (and many other states’) long and brutal history of lynchings and public executions of African American citizens.

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Notable Replies

  1. That dog-whistle is officially a bullhorn now.

    Desperation much?

  2. She has the trademark Trump party sneer.

  3. Avatar for jinnj jinnj says:

    there are times when certain people open their mouths and they reveal their true selves - their truly twisted unthinking ignorant selves…
    and vividly demonstrate their unfitness for office.

  4. Avatar for imkmu3 imkmu3 says:

    Air raid Tornado warning siren.

  5. It’s soooooooo outdated now.

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