After apologizing for abruptly approaching Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., Rep. Ted Yoho, R-Fla., explained to Newsmax TV what he said to her on the Capitol Hill steps.
"I said, 'you can't be that ignorant, and your policies are freaking crazy,'" Yoho told Wednesday's "Greg Kelly Reports" after asking her about advocating for struggling Americans to steal bread.
AOC has claimed Yoho finished by calling her a "f***ing b**ch," but Yoho denied he used those words.
"I apologize for my actions," Yoho told host Greg Kelly. "I can't apologize for something I didn't say.
"I won't make any apologies for my passion and my love for my country, and I think that's what hurts more when I have people advocating for that, and they want to bring this country down. Her policies are the antithesis of what this country was founded on."
Yoho's official apology came Wednesday on the House floor.
"I rise to apologize for the abrupt manner of the conversation I had with my colleague from New York," Yoho said. "It is true that we disagree on policies and visions for America, but that does not mean we should be disrespectful.
"The offensive name-calling words attributed to me by the press were never spoken to my colleagues, and if they were construed that way, I apologize for their misunderstanding."
The Hill had reported the two lawmakers were walking opposite ways on a set of stairs when Yoho called AOC "disgusting" over comments she made about crime rates in New York City going up because of the pandemic and poverty and not because of a lack of policing.
Yoho said she was "out of your freaking mind." She replied his comments were "rude" before Yoho was then reported to have called her the expletive.
Important: See Newsmax TV now carried in 70 million cable homes, on DirecTV Ch. 349, Dish Network Ch. 216, Xfinity Ch. 1115, Spectrum, U-verse Ch. 1220, FiOS Ch. 615, Optimum Ch. 102, Cox cable, Suddenlink Ch. 102, Mediacom Ch. 277, or Find More Cable Systems – Click Here.
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.