Georgia Congressman Duped By Sacha Baron Cohen Unites Twitter, ‘The View’

The derision, mockery and disdain that’s bound to haunt Georgia’s Republican state congressman and infamous dupe Jason Spencer long after his term in office expires remained at full steam today. Spencer, who exposed himself in more ways than one on Sunday’s episode of Sacha Baron Cohen’s Showtime series Who Is America? even brought the co-hosts of ABC’s The View together.

“People are always trying to bait Republicans,” said Meghan McCain, the panel’s conservative Republican and daughter of Sen. John McCain. “They’re always trying to make us look like jackasses, and if someone [gets you] to pull down your pants and show your butt on television then obviously you shouldn’t be in office.”

“He’s so dumb,” said liberal Joy Behar about Spencer, the Trump administration will “name him the next press secretary.”

Spencer, who supports legislation banning burqas (he’s called the proposal “an anti-masking statute”), was punked by Cohen in Sunday’s episode when the comedian, disguised as a (fake) Israeli anti-terrorism expert named Col. Erran Morad, instructed the congressman to drop his pants and “use your buttocks to intimidate ISIS.”

In the now-viral episode, Spencer can be seen charging towards Cohen, bare butt-first, in an exercise designed to frighten off potential homophobic Islamic terrorist kidnappers.

Cohen/Morad also convinces Spencer – with no arm-twisting – to shout the “N-word” as a way of drawing attention during a kidnapping. When Spencer does indeed yell out the racial slur, Cohen/Morad responds, “Are you crazy? The N-word is Noonie! Not this word. This word is disgusting.”

Spencer’s actions – which also included adopting a stereotypical Asian tourist accent while attempting to snap a photo under a woman’s burqa – drew immediate condemnation and calls for his resignation. (He recently lost his primary, but intends, at least so far, to complete his current term).

“Representative Spencer has disgraced himself and should resign immediately,” said Georgia House Speaker David Ralston. “Georgia is better than this.”

Tweeted Georgia Governor Nathan Deal:

See other reaction tweets below.

As evidenced by The View today, the Spencer brouhaha has united even the unlikeliest side-takers. McCain called Cohen “a genius” who exposes the “lowest common denominators,” while Behar noted that Spencer seemed to enjoy yelling out the N-word.

“A lot of people enjoy yelling it out,” said co-host Whoopi Goldberg. “I yell it, but there are consequences when you yell it.”

“You can yell it,” responded Behar.

Take a look at the various responses to Spencer’s behavior below, including The View segment. But first, here’s Spencer’s full statement to the Washington Post attempting to explain away his actions as resulting from fear.

In 2017 I received countless death threats in connection with my introduction of legislation involving the wearing of masks. The threats escalated to the point that my wife received threatening phone calls concerning her and my children. I was very afraid for my safety and the safety of my entire family.

Then, on June 14th, a gunman opened fire at members of Congress on a baseball field. I knew people on that field. Now, the fears I already had became more intensified as the reality of my family being targeted by a similar, deranged, would-be assassin became even more possible. I was in such a poor state of mind that my wife and I also undertook marriage counseling with a licensed therapist during this time.

Sacha Baron Cohen and his associates took advantage of my paralyzing fear that my family would be attacked. In posing as an Israeli Agent, he pretended to offer self-defense exercises. As uncomfortable as I was to participate, I agreed to, understanding that these ‘techniques’ were meant to help me and others fend off what I believed was an inevitable attack.

My fears were so heightened at that time, I was not thinking clearly nor could I appreciate what I was agreeing to when I participated in his ‘class.’ I was told I would be filmed as a ‘demonstration video’ to teach others the same skills in Israel. Sacha and his crew further lied to me, stating that I would be able to review and have final approval over any footage used.

I deeply regret the language I used at his request as well as my participation in the ‘class’ in general. If I had not been so distracted by my fears, I never would have agreed to participate in the first place.

I apologize to my family, friends, and the people of my district for this ridiculously ugly episode. Finally, there are calls for me to resign. I recently lost my primary election, so I will not eligible to hold office next term. Therefore, I will finish the remaining five months at my post and vacate my seat.” – Jason Spencer