A Republican state senator has resigned from his position after he shared a social media post that suggested women who attended the Women's March were too ugly to be sexually assaulted.
Nebraska Sen. Bill Kintner retweeted a photo from conservative radio host Larry Elder from the Women's March on Saturday — the massive event where more than 1 million people marched nationwide to stand up for women's rights.
The photo of three women holding signs alluding to President Donald Trump's comments that he grabbed women by the genitals without their permission was captioned, "Ladies, I think you're safe."
The women, who appear to be middle-aged, hold signs in the photo that read "Not this pussy" and "Not mine either."
The Lincoln Journal Star reported that Kintner initially told other Twitter users that he found the tweet to be "funny."
After criticism for sharing the controversial post, Kintner deactivated his Twitter account and blamed the backlash on the "liberal playbook." Yet as the Journal Star reported, other conservative lawmakers called on Kintner to resign, including GOP Sens. Jim Smith and Dan Watermeier.
Nebraska lawmakers were reportedly ready to boot Kintner from the Senate Wednesday, but he resigned before they could do so.
Kinter announced his resignation in a press conference Wednesday morning. His resignation will be effective Jan. 30.
"As much as my heart says to fight, my head says it's time to step away from the legislature," Kintner told reporters.
"I hesitate to resign as I know my resignation will be hailed as a victory for the progressive liberal movement," he continued. "But this is not about justice or doing what's right. This is the old adage that 'might makes right.' If you have the votes, you can do what you want."
During his press conference, he did not address the controversial tweet or apologize to women. He did, however, thank his staff, fellow conservatives and family, becoming emotional as he did so.
The only mention of the controversial tweet was in a statement to ABC News Monday in which his office said:
By retweeting a message, I was not implying support for putting women in fear of their personal safety. I took down the retweet as soon as I became aware that it was being misconstrued.
Kintner posted a copy of his resignation letter to his Facebook page.
The social media gaffe wasn't the first time Kintner has come under fire from his constituents and colleagues. He admitted last year to using a state laptop to engage in cybersex with a woman who he met online.
As he ended his press conference Wednesday, Kintner borrowed a line from embattled former President Richard Nixon, saying," You won't have Bill Kintner to kick around anymore."
(H/T: Omaha World Herald)
