U.S. Rep. Mary Miller immediately drew fierce backlash on social media and elsewhere at a Saturday night rally with former President Donald Trump when she credited him for the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade calling it a “victory for white life.”
But Miller’s campaign said Saturday night that the congresswoman misread prepared remarks at a rally that Trump held for her in Mendon, Illinois.
“You can clearly see she is reading off a piece of paper, she meant to say ‘right to life,'” Miller spokesman Isaiah Wartman said.
Miller, R-Illinois, later tweeted: “I will always defend the RIGHT TO LIFE!”
The statement unleashed a forceful rebuke on social media, likening Miller to a white supremacist and recalling her quoting Adolf Hitler on Jan. 6, 2021 — the day a mob broke into the nation’s Capitol. She later apologized.
The misstep Saturday couldn’t come at a worse time for Miller, who is locked in a tight contest with Rep. Rodney Davis in Illinois’ newly drawn 15th Congressional District.
Wartman made a subsequent statement in response to unforgiving coverage of Miller’s gaffe.
“Joe Biden doesn’t know where he is half the time and the Fake News refuses to cover it. Mary stumbles while saying “Right to Life” and the fake news vultures are out,” he said in a text message.
“To suggest that she is somehow not committed to defending all life is disgusting. She has the most Pro-Life voting record in Congress and is the proud grandmother of two beautiful grandchildren with down syndrome,” Wartman said. “The fake news media is targeting Mary Miller because she is doing everything she can to stop the Democrats from allowing the massacre of babies like her grandchildren.”
The Trump rally drew thousands of people on Saturday, at an event where Trump also endorsed GOP gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey.
Bailey has led in recent polls against Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin, despite Irvin having the backing of billionaire Ken Griffin. Griffin, who poured tens of millions of dollars into Irvin’s race, announced last week he was moving his hedge fund Citadel’s headquarters from Chicago to Miami.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
