Watch Members of Congress Read Insulting Tweets About Themselves (Video)

Twitter is a great platform for anonymously slinging insults, especially at the rich, famous, and powerful. So it’s hardly a wonder that members of the perpetually unpopular Congress find themselves at the blunt end of 140-character jabs.

But the barbs can turn to comedy gold when the recipients of insulting tweets read them aloud. Inspired by the recurring Jimmy Kimmel Live gag “Mean Tweets,” the crew from Now This News got several members of Congress to read some of the nastiest things ever tweeted about them.

Some of the readings are quite good, such as Senator Chuck Schumer, New York Democrat, reciting a tweet that compares him to an “old pair of shoes,” or Representative Sean Duffy, Wisconsin Republican, responding to one that compares his stints on The Real World and in Congress to a hygiene product. The best, though, is Senator Claire McCaskill, Missouri Democrat, fearlessly reading back a tweet compelling her to “suck a pig’s ass.”

Benjamin Freed

Staff Writer

Benjamin Freed joined Washingtonian in August 2013 and covers politics, business, and media. He was previously the editor of DCist and has also written for Washington City Paper, the New York Times, the New Republic, Slate, and BuzzFeed. He lives in Adams Morgan.