The husband of a Republican senator is facing backlash after he appeared to decline shaking hands with Vice President Kamala Harris as his wife was being sworn into the 119th Congress.
A video circulating on social media Monday shows Harris standing next to Republican Nebraska Sen. Deb Fischer and her husband Bruce Fischer as she was sworn into Congress. Harris and the senator shook hands as Harris congratulated her. The vice president then reached to shake the hand of Bruce who did not (and likely could not comfortably) reciprocate. (RELATED: Nebraska Sen. Deb Fischer Secures Third Term After Fending Off Independent Challenger).
“Thank you,” he said to Harris after she congratulated him and as his wife took the Bible from his hand. Other images from the swearing-in ceremony show Bruce was holding onto a cane in his right hand.
Not weighing in on Bruce Fischer’s intent here, but what this video with 1.4 million views does not show is that he’s holding a cane with the hand the Vice President tried to shake. https://t.co/50yUUgxRwt pic.twitter.com/XYf4uTzwht
— Andrew Wegley (@andrewwegley) January 6, 2025
“The husband of a Republican senator just refused to shake hands or make eye contact with Vice President Harris. The level of class you can expect from MAGA,” political commentator and MSNBC contributor Brian Tyler Cohen wrote on X accompanied by a clip of the interaction.
“I bet he misses the ‘good ole days,’” Maxwell Alejandro Frost, a Democratic representative from Florida, wrote in response to Cohen’s post.
“This is a Democrat House member smearing an old man for not shaking Kamala Harris’ hand *because he was holding a cane*… suggesting that he wants a return to slavery,” a Twitter user wrote in response to Frost’s comment. “There is no bottom for these people,” he continued, seemingly referencing Democrats in general.
The husband of a Republican senator just refused to shake hands or make eye contact with Vice President Harris.
The level of class you can expect from MAGA. pic.twitter.com/hTarflIqlw
— No Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen (@NoLieWithBTC) January 6, 2025
Others were also quick to comment on the interaction, potentially before gaining full context
“This election was never about the economy. It was always about white supremacy,” Keith Boykin, a former White House aide to President Bill Clinton, wrote on Blue Sky.
“What an absolutely pathetic display of fragility and hate. The bare minimum—shaking someone’s hand—is apparently too much for these people,” Brian Allen, founder of LimeFunding, said on X. “This is cave-dweller behavior, plain and simple. No class, no decency, just pure spite.”
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