The Atlantic‘s Jemele Hill Speaks Out About Deleted Trump Tweet: Not a Call for Violence Against POTUS

Josh FeldmanFeb 6th, 2019, 7:42 pm

The Atlantic‘s Jemele Hill tonight apologized for a tweet she posted about President Donald Trump and said she was absolutely not calling for violence.

Hill joked in a tweet that Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez should yell out “GETCHO HAND OUT MY POCKET” at Trump during the State of the Union. The line is a reference to a phrase shouted just before the assassination of Malcolm X.

Hill took down the tweet and apologized for “breathing life into such an absurd assumption” that she would make an call for violence against Trump, noting other times she’s used the line in a joking manner:

Glad you asked. When I tweeted “GETCHO HAND OUT MY POCKET,” in no way was I suggesting any physical harm to the president. I have used this phrase many times in my Twitter history, always in lighthearted ways, and removed from the context of the movie. https://t.co/2uVVCvVfAr

— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) February 6, 2019

Please, allow me to retort … https://t.co/K9q9YVUmsq

— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) February 6, 2019

Let me be clear: I have often disagreed with many of the president’s policies, his behavior and rhetoric, but I would never call for violence against him, or any person. I apologize for breathing life into such an absurd assumption.

— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) February 7, 2019

And that’s why I took it down. I don’t need to dig in on this unnecessarily. If there’s a chance someone could arrive at that conclusion, I’d rather just say I’m sorry and move on. https://t.co/sDEoQ8gsVW

— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) February 7, 2019

So, FYI .. i literally have used GETCHO HAND OUT OF MY POCKET a bunch of other times on Twitter, and always in a manner where you want to escape or distract from a situation. Never in a way that was harmful or malicious. pic.twitter.com/Hk7JLvwrdV

— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) February 7, 2019

[image via screengrab]

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