Rep. Don Young (R-AK) on Thursday called reporter Melanie Zanona of Politico to apologize for shoving her earlier in the day, Zanona said on Twitter.
Don Young has called me to personally apologize, which I accepted and very much appreciate. Told him we were just trying to do our jobs (which he said he understood)! https://t.co/4LHu1xOVGZ
— Melanie Zanona (@MZanona) April 4, 2019
Zanona’s update came about two hours after she tweeted that Young “just physically shoved me and told me to get out of his way ‘damnit’ as I was trying to interview another lawmaker outside the door of the House chamber.”
The reporter did not respond to TPM’s interview request, but a spokesperson for Young, Zack Brown, said in an email to TPM that “Congressman Young spoke personally to Ms. Zanona today, and they had a productive conversation.”
It’s not the first time Young has gotten physical in the halls of Congress. In 2014, he apologized to a congressional staffer after a television producer caught him on tape twisting the staffer’s arm. Prior to that, he barged through a police line to get into the House side of the Capitol building, which had been off-limits due to an asbestos scare. He also once held a closed knife to the throat of former House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH). (Young told that story on Rep. Sean Duffy’s (R-WI) podcast, “Plaidcast.” Listen here at 10:18.)
I don’t know what is worse his anger issues or his sense of entitlement.
Wait’ll the Orange Shitgibbon finds out that a Republican [gasp!] actually apologized! WTF is the world coming to?!
Let’s hope the press goes through all the records at courthouses where he might have be sued in civil court.
This is why they don’t respect you guys. He was not just doing his job. He was purposefully being an abusive ass because he knew he could because he know you would gleefully accept and “very much appreciate” any half-hearted apology for fear of losing “access.” He’s not sorry and he’ll not hesitate to do it again when you get in his way.
All irrelevant. The true issue to focus on is really the “personal space issues” of Joe Biden, amirite?
So tired of these people…