Rep. Haley Stevens’ awkward campaign pep talk that went viral this week is not the first time the Michigan Democrat has made waves for an unusual public speaking moment.
Stevens, who is now running for Michigan’s open Senate seat, was mocked online this week after a video of her cringey stump speech telling supporters she would bring "a little bit of enthusiasm, a little bit of energy and a little bit of stick-it-to-them… because that’s the Michigan way" went viral and garnered reaction online.
The viral moment harkened back to a separate cringey 2020 House floor episode, when Stevens wore pink latex gloves during comments about the coronavirus pandemic and was repeatedly gaveled down after her time expired.
"I rise for every American who is scared right now," Stevens said during the March 2020 floor speech, after requesting additional time while pointing to the gloves she was wearing, her voice raising as her testimony progressed. The speaker pro tempore, residing on the House floor, tried to gavel Stevens out repeatedly, which she ignored.
Eventually, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., yielded her 30 more seconds, at which time Stevens continued addressing doctors and nurses despite the calls to order.
"You will see darkness. You will be pushed. And our society needs you to stand together at this time. Our country loves you – to our doctors and our nurses, I wear these latex gloves to tell every American to not be afraid," Stevens continued before once again being cut off by the speaker pro tempore.
MICHIGAN DEM SENATOR THROWS SUPPORT BEHIND CANDIDATE TO REPLACE HIM IN CONTENTIOUS PRIMARY
"The gentlelady's time has expired… the gentlelady from Michigan is out of order," the speaker pro tempore said repeatedly, even as Stevens refused to cease her enthusiastic remarks. "The gentlelady from Michigan is out of order. The gentlelady from Michigan is no longer recognized."
Stevens' viral moments come just three weeks until Michigan’s Senate primaries, at which time she will take on Democratic challenger Abdul El-Sayed.
"Maybe Abdul El-Sayed is winning hearts and minds in liberal Michigan… or maybe he’s just running against this?" Brent Scher, editor-in-chief for the Daily Wire, said in a post to X, referring to Stevens' awkward stump speech.
"I just want to know why, and when, she chose to adopt this fake accent?" Chris Gustafson, the communications director for the Senate Leadership Fund wrote on X after the stump speech. "Stevens’ ads from 2018 sound like an entirely different person. Make it make sense."
In recent weeks, the Michigan primary has drawn national attention as it pits El-Sayed, a candidate pushing the party further left on issues like healthcare and international affairs, against Stevens, an establishment figure with the backing of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.
Those lines grew clearer as a third Democratic candidate, Mallory McMorrow, dropped out of the race earlier this month, taking away a third, more middle-of-the-road option.
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