Charlie Rangel Apologizes On-Air After Angrily Calling Laura Ingraham 'Just a Pretty Girl

Laura Ingraham has been called a "slut" by a liberal before. Now add "just a pretty girl" to the list.

The latest comment came courtesy of Rep. Charlie Rangel on Thursday night, who made the remark to Ingraham during a testy interview while Ingraham was filling in for Bill O'Reilly.

“Bill O’Reilly told me he had a secret weapon– I didn’t know it was just a pretty girl that they'd bring in," an exasperated Rangel quipped, upset at the questions Ingraham was asking and the way she was conducting the interview.

Ingraham immediately shot back with a perplexed look on her face: "That's very condescending, sir. Very condescending. A 'pretty girl?' These are serious questions."

"You have asked me 50 questions and I'm begging you, I'm begging you, I'm begging you, to leave all the plantation stuff, leave out Johnson and the poverty program, and just ask me one question at a time!" Rangel said raising his voice.

So what led to this? Mediate explains the context:

Rep. Rangel was on the program to address comments made the night before by Rep. Allen West, who compared himself to Harriet Tubman and accused members of the Congressional Black Caucus of being complicit in running “the plantation.” Rep. Rangel noted that he was “very surprised” at the words, even allowing that Rep. West “is new and he’s a freshman,” but “he doesn’t come from the political party that can talk about plantations and that type of thing.” Ingraham immediately jumped on the comment, asking if, “Allen West, as an African-American, cannot use the word ‘plantation.’” That begot a vicious cycle of crosstalk that didn’t allow for much in the way of discussion, though Ingraham brought up 1960s Democratic programs and such until the conversation settled down, as Rep. Rangel argued he couldn’t get a word in.

Understanding that the comment could lead to a firestorm, however, Rangel eventually apologized. But that created a chance for Ingraham to get in a jab of her own.

“I’m sorry I said you were attractive,” Rangel said.

"That’s okay," Ingraham responded, "I was going to make a joke about your condo in the Dominican Republican and I didn’t, out of respect for you.”

You can watch the clip -- and the apology -- below: