MSNBC Hosts: 'Weak' for Female Senator Not to Name Who Sexually Harassed Her in Congress

MSNBC's Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough said Friday that it was "weak" for Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) to say she was sexually harassed in Congress but not to "name names" of those who harassed her.

Gillibrand wrote in her new book "Off the Sidelines" that one of her colleagues once pinched her waist and told her: “Don’t lose too much weight now, I like my girls chubby.” She said a congressman told her: “You know, Kirsten, you’re even pretty when you’re fat.”

This March 6, 2014 file photo shows Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y. on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File

“If Kirsten Gillibrand was sexually harassed by other senators ... doesn’t she have a right to the constituents of these beasts?" Scarborough said. "Because these men, after all, represent millions and millions of people. And don't women have the right to know which men come up and say, 'I like my girls chubby,' and [come] up squeezing her? ... Doesn't she have a responsibility to name names?"

Brzezinski spoke about her own experience with sexual harassment on Capitol Hill, recalling how she called out the late Sen. Strom Thurmond (R-S.C.) after he "pinched" her.

"No one is naming names, and I think that's actually, that's weak," Brzezinski said. "If someone is squeezing your tummy and saying 'I like my women chubby,' I want to know who that guy is running some state or a constituency in Congress. But even more so, if you're not going to name the name, then the nature of the conversation was different."

"I think it's weak too," Scarborough agreed. "She needs to name names for the sake of the women who are represented by these men, who are sexually harassing her."

You can see video of the conversation below, via Talking Points Memo:

(H/T: Mediaite)