*We will be using an asterisk in the word r*pe in this story about assaulting women and its ramifications. The asterisk allows us to spread the news across more platforms. (Ed.)

It has been a rough two weeks in Texas and it doesn’t really appear as though Texas’s MAGA leadership was prepared. After all, one would think that the governor would have a better answer as to r*pe victims access to healthcare than the one he actually gave:

“That said, however, let’s make something very clear. R*pe is a crime, and Texas will work tirelessly to make sure that we eliminate all r*pists from the streets of Texas by aggressively going out and arresting them and prosecuting them and getting them off the streets.”

The answer invited both ridicule and outrage. Obviously, such an offensive answer should be directed to the White House for comment and a sensible reporter did ask Psaki if she had a response on behalf of the administration. She did. (Video below)

REPORTER: (Paraphrased) The Texas governor was asked about the protection of r*pe victims and he made mention of eliminating all r*pe in Texas by arresting them and prosecuting them, does the White House have a comment on that.

Psaki leveled Governor Abbott by directing her answer to his statement, by name, and making it the punchline of an appropriately ridiculous (and dark) “joke.”

PSAKI: If Governor Abbott has a means of eliminating all r*pists or all r*pe from the US then there would be bipartisan support for that. But given there’s never been a leader in the United States or the world who has ever been able to eliminate r*pe…

She went on to mention that many women get their basic healthcare services from Planned Parenthood and other clinics and that the White House would fight to ensure that all women have access to these essential services.

Watch:

Psaki: If Governor Abbott has a means of eliminating all rapists or all rape from the US then there would be bipartisan support for that pic.twitter.com/icKPRokv2K

— Acyn (@Acyn) September 8, 2021

Perfect answer to a perfectly awful statement from Abbott. Texas has been caught in a firestorm that – unbelievably – they didn’t seem to anticipate.

Good.

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