Criticism mounts over NC official sharing meme mocking ‘fat’ Women’s March | Charlotte Observer

The new N.C. Insurance Commissioner faces criticism for sharing a social media meme that mocked the weekend’s Women’s March.

The leader of North Carolina’s Democratic Party on Tuesday questioned Mike Causey’s judgment and fitness for office.

Saturday’s marches, held in Washington, D.C., Charlotte, Raleigh and other cities around the nation and world, drew several million people the day after President Donald Trump’s inauguration. Many were protesting Trump and his behavior toward women, among other things.

WRAL-TV in Raleigh reported that on Sunday, Causey, a Republican, shared on Facebook a photo of a street filled with marchers, with these words over the picture: “In one day, Trump got more fat women out walking than Michelle Obama did in 8 years.”

He also linked it to one of his Twitter accounts. Causey later apologized for the post, stating it “represented a momentary lapse in judgment on my part for which I am truly sorry.

“This does not reflect my feelings toward women, and in the future we will manage social media in a more responsible manner,” he stated.

But N.C. Democratic Party chair Patsy Keever called Causey’s comments “disgusting and unacceptable.”

In a statement, she said the marchers, including those in North Carolina, were protesting “this kind of demeaning and degrading language. For Causey to turn around and use it the very next day raises serious questions about his judgment and fitness for elected office.”

Causey also faced a lot of criticism on Twitter for his actions.

One woman posted: “Men like you are one of the reasons we march.” Another woman demanded that he resign, stating, “No elected official should EVER denigrate members of the public who hired them! Shame!”

An Insurance Department spokesman provided a copy of Causey’s apology to the Observer Tuesday but did not immediately respond to a question seeking comment on Keever’s statement.

This is Causey’s first term in office. In his fifth run for the post, he defeated the incumbent commissioner, Democrat Wayne Goodwin.

Meanwhile, another Republican politician in North Carolina also faced flak over her own Women’s March post.

Joyce Krawiec, a state senator from Kernersville, deleted a tweet about marchers that read: “Message to crazies @ Women’s March - If Brains were lard, you couldn’t grease a small skillet. You know who you are.”

Krawiec, a former state GOP vice chair, later apologized on Twitter, stating she was just speaking of “the DC protesters dressed inappropriately and spewing foul language. Disrespecting women. Not representing women.”