On Monday, we told you the story of the controversy surrounding the symbolic swearing-in ceremony involving Senator Deb Fischer (R-NE), her husband Bruce, and Vice President Kamala Harris.
Video of their brief interaction on Friday went viral on social media, sparking accusations that Mr. Fischer was intentionally rude to Harris because he allegedly “refused” to shake her hand or look her in the eyes. In the eyes of his “Very Online Leftist” critics, Mr. Fischer was motivated by racism and sexism.
If you missed it, you can watch the clip below:
The husband of a Republican senator simply refused to shake Vice President Harris’s hand or make eye contact.
The level you can expect from MAGA. pic.twitter.com/hTarflIqlw
– No Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen (@NoLieWithBTC) January 6, 2025
READ MORE: About the video of Deb Fischer’s husband and Kamala Harris circulating on social media
As we also documented, eagle-eyed video observers noticed that Senator Fischer’s husband was using a cane with one hand and holding the Bible with the other, and actually briefly looked up at Harris to say “thank you.”
Unfortunately, the video is still a heated topic of conversation for all the wrong reasons, with MSNBC’s Joy(less) Reid receive was in the middle of the action and even woke up members of the Congress.
Aside from a few admittedly left-leaning websites that write stories on the topic (and promote “racism” and “sexism” narratives), very few in the mainstream media have covered this story, with the New York Post being one represents an exception to the rule.
But on Tuesday afternoon, The New York Times published a report on the events between Fischer and Harris – with a headline accusing Mr. Fischer of “denying” a handshake to the twice-failed Democratic presidential nominee, with the clear implication that he had intentionally, for reasons that had nothing to do with the fact that he had to exploit a stick for support:
The senator’s husband refuses to shake Harris’ hand, drawing criticism https://t.co/4bKJTB2lkQ
— Annie Karni (@anniekarni) January 7, 2025
In fact, it wasn’t even mentioned that until then Fischer was leaning on a stick 16 Insert paragraphs into the story. Yes – 16 paragraphs. This comes long after most people have probably stopped reading the story and formed an opinion, and an ill-informed one at that, if their only news source for the story was the Times.
From both a media and reader perspective, I’m really disappointed with how this story has turned out, and not just with the few media outlets that have covered it (the Washington Times, for example, had “refuses to shake“ in their headline), but also among influencers left and right on social media.
I feel that instead of trying to find a likely explanation for why things happened the way they did, many resorted to a narrative and the facts about this man’s very personal situation were irrelevant to that narrative.
At this time, neither Senator Fischer’s camp nor Harris’ office has responded to media inquiries. While it would be nice of them to do this to clear up any confusion, I can understand why they might not have done so. Senator Fisher’s husband may shy away from discussing his disability, and perhaps Harris feels it’s not her place to speak up (or maybe she really felt snubbed – who knows?).
I have read unconfirmed reports that Mr. Fischer has suffered a stroke in recent years, which, if true, could explain the cane and also why he seemed unsteady on his feet and constantly looking at the ground as if he were wanted to make sure he didn’t trip.
Or it could simply be age and typical pain that causes him to exploit a cane.
All I know is that from my perspective as a long-time caregiver of family members, anyone who has spent time with someone who uses a cane and/or walker or is otherwise unsteady on their feet for any reason knows this very well. This is one of their biggest fears of people who need support walking is that they lose balance and may fall.
For this reason, many people do not want to touch or be touched while standing (pat on the back, hand on the shoulder, etc.), make a habit of looking at their feet, and are careful to be around family members remain those who know their situation and are ready to act at any time.
That’s what I saw in the viral video (the more detailed clip can be seen below for additional context), not an older man trying to “own the libraries” or display “classlessness” and “bad character.”
GOP Sen. Deb Fischer’s husband, Bruce, refuses to shake Vice President Kamala Harris’ hand after her swearing in. Truly classless. pic.twitter.com/a0ZQuDV0t0
— Republicans Against Trump (@RpsAgainstTrump) January 6, 2025
The press needs to do better, as do social media influencers, but I won’t hold my breath and neither should you.
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