On Monday, MAGA Republican President Donald Trump named Stephen Miller as the 33rd White House chief of staff to replace Susie Wiles following major midterm election losses for the GOP. Miller had been the deputy chief of staff for policy and Homeland Security advisor for Trump's second presidential term.
With the shakeup in the administration, the press sought reactions from members of Congress. One quote went viral across social media.
Delaware Democratic Representative Sarah McBride was quoted by The Washington Sun saying:
"I think this President just wanted someone even more unlikable than him in the cuck chair in the Oval Office."
Cuck is a slang term popularized by the Manosphere and right-wing influencers to insult liberal men. It's short for cuckold and, according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, "informally and disparagingly" means a "weak or submissive man."
But many wondered if the quote from the recently reelected member of the House of Representatives—McBride garnered 64.3% support from her constituents in the midterms—was real.
Representative McBride put all doubts about the authenticity of the quote to rest in an X post of her own.
She wrote:
"To all the people texting me asking if this is a real quote:"
"Yep."
Slate journalist and What's Next: TBD podcast host Lizzie O'Leary did one better and shared the video on her Bluesky account of Representative McBride making the comment to her at Crooked Con over the weekend. Crooked Con is a pro-democracy and progressive political gathering hosted by Crooked Media, a media company founded by former Obama administration staffers who host the podcast Pod Save America.
On Instagram, Slate shared it with the caption:
"Yes, the quote is real. At Crooked Con this weekend, Lizzie O'Leary, host of Slate's What Next: TBD, asked Rep. Sarah McBride about President Trump's appointment of Stephen Miller to White House chief of staff."
"McBride didn't mince words: 'I think it's very possible that this president's feeling so insecure that he wanted someone more unlikable and more unpopular than him in the cuck chair in the Oval Office.'"
You can see the video here:
@princetonyimby; @jonniola/Bluesky
The original quote is slightly longer than the one from The Washington Sun that went viral, but the message is essentially the same.
People loved that Representative McBride pulled no punches.
@dbranch9/Bluesky
@ndunlap7721/Threads
@witmemo/Bluesky
@thefallswineroom/Threads
@malanparker/Bluesky
@princetonyimby; @jonniola/Bluesky
@emptywheel/Bluesky
@tamsin.reimaginedgirl.com/Bluesky
Goldstein/Bluesky
According to Pink News, Representative McBride sent welcoming "goodie bags" to all incoming freshman members of Congress that arrived for orientation. The bags included both orientation essentials and a helpful guide for navigating the Capitol campus, complete with the locations of all of the single stall bathrooms.
Sass and class—what a great combination for a member of Congress.
@realDonaldTrump/Truth Social
