¶ Overview
- On two different occasions Murphy posted inappropriate comments about women elected officials, then deleted the posts without apologizing. In response to a post Rep. Ilhan Omar made about the assailant who drove his car into a barrier at the Capitol, Murphy posted that it “would have been worse if they had been flying planes into the buildings.” After a vice-presidential debate between Kamala Harris and Mike Pence, Murphy posted that Harris was only chosen as Biden’s running mate “for her color and her race.” When asked, Murphy said he meant the tweet to say that Harris was only chosen for her “color and gender.”
¶ Murphy Posted And Deleted Two Controversial Comments About Women Elected Officials
¶ April 2021: Murphy Invoked 9/11 In Response To A Tweet Rep. Ilhan Omar Made Expressing Grief About An Attack On The Capitol
HEADLINE: “Man Rams Car Into 2 Capitol Police; 1 Officer, Driver Killed” [AP News via Wayback Machine, 4/4/21]
- In Response To Omar Tweeting The Death Toll Could Have Been Higher If The Assailant Had A Gun, Murphy Said It “Would Have Been Worse If They Had Been Flying Planes Into The Buildings Also.” According to The Guardian, “A Republican congressman responded to Ilhan Omar’s expression of grief about the attack at the US Capitol on Friday by comparing it to the 9/11 attacks. A police officer was killed when a suspect rammed him and another officer with his car outside the Capitol on Friday. The suspect wielded a knife and was shot dead. The other officer hit by the car survived. […] Omar, a Minnesota Democrat, tweeted: ‘Heartbroken to learn another [police officer] was killed while protecting the Capitol. My thoughts and prayers go out to the officer’s family and the entire Capitol police force. The death toll would have been worse if the assailant had an AR-15 [assault rifle] instead of a knife.’ In response, Congressman Greg Murphy of North Carolina wrote: ‘Would have been worse if they had been flying planes into the buildings also.’” [Guardian, 4/5/21]
- Murphy Was Condemned For The Tweet And Later Deleted It, But Never Issued An Apology. According to The Guardian, “Murphy was widely rebuked. ‘You just invoked Sept 11 to attack a Muslim member of Congress,’ wrote the North Carolina state senator Jeff Jackson, a Democrat. ‘I knew you a little when you were in the state legislature. This is well beneath you. It doesn’t matter how strongly you disagree with her on policy, you should represent our state better than this.’ Robert S McCaw, director of government affairs for the Council on Islamic Relations (Cair), said Murphy’s tweet was ‘disrespectful to the victims of the 9/11 attacks, to their families and to the countless Muslim and other minority hate crime victims who were targeted in the wake of 9/11. His bigoted comments only serve to perpetuate the climate of hate that we are witnessing nationwide.’ McCaw also said he hoped ‘Murphy’s Republican colleagues will condemn this Islamophobic attack and not just look the other way as they did when Muslim members of Congress were attacked similarly in the past.’ The tweet was deleted.” [Guardian, 4/5/21]
¶ October 2020: Murphy Tweeted That Kamala Harris Was Chosen As Biden’s Running Mate “For Her Color And Her Race”
October 2020: After A Vice-Presidential Debate Between Kamala Harris And Mike Pence, Murphy Tweeted Then Deleted That Harris Was “Only Picked” As Biden’s Running Mate “For Her Color And Her Race.” According to WFAE, “A North Carolina congressman tweeted that Democratic vice presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris was chosen ‘for her color and her race.’ Third District Republican Rep. Greg Murphy posted the tweet Wednesday night, but has since deleted it, WITN reported Thursday.”
[WFAE, 10/8/20]
- Murphy Later Deleted The Tweet About Vice Presidential Candidate Kamala Harris. According to WFAE, “A North Carolina congressman tweeted that Democratic vice presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris was chosen ‘for her color and her race.’ […] Third District Republican Rep. Greg Murphy posted the tweet Wednesday night, but has since deleted it, WITN reported Thursday.” [WFAE, 10/8/20]
- Murphy Also Tweeted That Harris Was “Not Up To The Task” Of Being Vice President. According to WFAE, “The tweet was posted after Wednesday night’s vice presidential debate in which Vice President Mike Pence squared off with Harris, the first Black woman to be on a major party ticket. Murphy also posted that Harris ‘is not qualified to be POTUS in any way shape or form ... She is just not up to the task.’” [WFAE, 10/8/20]
¶ Murphy Told A News Station He Meant His Tweet To Say That Harris Was Only Chosen As Vice President For Her “Color And Gender”
Murphy Reportedly Told News Station WITN That He Meant To Say Harris Was Only Selected As Vice President For Her “Color And Gender.” According to WFAE, “A North Carolina congressman tweeted that Democratic vice presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris was chosen ‘for her color and her race.’ Third District Republican Rep. Greg Murphy posted the tweet Wednesday night, but has since deleted it, WITN reported Thursday. Murphy told the television station that he meant to say ‘color and gender.’” [WFAE, 10/8/20]
¶ murphy ignored questions about his tweet about harris and refused to apologize for posting it
At An Event The Next Day, Murphy Ignored Questions About His Tweet And Refused To Apologize For Posting It. According to WNCT 9, “Congressman Greg Murphy is not responding to calls to his office with questions about his deleted tweet about the Democrats’ Vice Presidential Candidate, Kamala Harris. But he did make a public appearance late Thursday afternoon in Jones County. Murphy did not bring up anything about the California Senator or his social media message. He was in Trenton to speak about the opening of the town’s new volunteer fire station, replacing a facility damaged by Hurricane Florence in 2018. […] Murphy then left the podium area and walked out the back of the new station. 9OYS followed the congressman, asking for his response to the controversy over his social media post. When approached the congressman did not say anything about his tweet or the Democrats’ calls for an apology and left in a car. WNCT reached out to the congressman’s offices Thursday afternoon. The voicemail box at his Washington DC office is full. He has yet to reply to the message we left at his Greenville office.” [WNCT 9, 10/8/20]