Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) unwittingly gave women a new rallying cry when he silenced Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) on Tuesday night.
“She was warned. She was given an explanation,” he said. “Nevertheless, she persisted.”
#ShePersisted almost immediately began trending on Twitter.
Warren had been attempting to read a letter written in 1986 by the late Coretta Scott King ― civil rights hero and widow of Martin Luther King Jr. ― that criticized Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), then a U.S. attorney who had been nominated for a federal judgeship.
McConnell invoked Rule XIX, which said: “No Senator in debate shall, directly or indirectly, by any form of words impute to another Senator or to other Senators any conduct or motive unworthy or unbecoming a Senator.” King’s letter argued that, during Sessions’ time as a prosecutor in Alabama, he “used the awesome power of his office to chill the free exercise of the vote by black citizens.”
Warren is now forbidden from speaking on the Senate floor as the body considers Sessions’ nomination for U.S. attorney general. But social media has been anything but silent as #ShePersisted became the new call to arms.
Here’s a sampling:
'Nevertheless, she persisted.' It's so poetic.
— rosanne cash (@rosannecash) February 8, 2017
"Nevertheless, she persisted" is likely showing up on a lot of protest signs this weekend. https://t.co/dbA1UaqwUU
— Rebecca Traister (@rtraister) February 8, 2017
"She was warned. She was given an explanation. Nevertheless she persisted." #letlizspeak #Sessionshearing pic.twitter.com/FdSlIyxsrI
— T. Fisher King (@T_FisherKing) February 8, 2017
"Nevertheless, she persisted." Mitch McConnell just gave Elizabeth Warren the title of her autobiography, if not a line of T-shirts.
— David Simon (@AoDespair) February 8, 2017
"Nevertheless, she persisted" may be my first tattoo.
— Alex Beech (@alexbeech) February 8, 2017
"She was warned. She was given an explanation. Nevertheless, #shepersisted."
— Renee Bracey Sherman (@RBraceySherman) February 8, 2017
Marsha P. Johnson & Sylvia Rivera pic.twitter.com/AY5bPtXBUi
Know who else was warned & given an explanation, yet persisted? Rosa Parks. Susan B Anthony. Harriet Tubman. Malala Yousafzai. #shepersisted
— Emily Clasper (@eclasper) February 8, 2017
Let's slow the beat down:
— Tom Watson (@tomwatson) February 8, 2017
Mitch McConnell
Told an elected woman
Reading Corretta Scott King
To shut up
And take a seat.#ShePersisted
She was warned. She was given an explanation. Nevertheless, she persisted. pic.twitter.com/ebXJRX23Re
— Marc (@MarcSnetiker) February 8, 2017
"Nevertheless she persisted" is the contemptible lament of every old white man who has tried and failed to silence an indomitable woman.
— Melissa McEwan (@Shakestweetz) February 8, 2017
Does Mitch McConnell understand that "Nevertheless she persisted" is now a rallying cry? That he unwittingly has strengthened our resolve?
— Leslie Grossman (@MissLeslieG) February 8, 2017
Trump’s latest executive order. pic.twitter.com/WGd9ZStJdI
— Dave Pell (@davepell) February 8, 2017
#ShePersisted Wear that like a crown, Warrior @SenWarren! https://t.co/cXXRITDyjn
— Groovycol (@groovycol) February 8, 2017
#ShePersisted is the best hashtag of all time. Nice work, McGoblin
— Ben Basche (@basche42) February 8, 2017
She was warned. She was given an explanation Nevertheless #shepersisted. pic.twitter.com/clyawulaPI
— Oliver Willis (@owillis) February 8, 2017
"She was warned. She was given an explanation. Nevertheless she persisted."
— Zac (@mrv3rtig0) February 8, 2017
Straight out of the domestic violence handbook. #letlizspeak
"She was warned. She was given an explanation. Nevertheless, she persisted " is basically the story of all female progress through history
— Camila Londono (@drClondono) February 8, 2017
She was warned. She was given an explanation. Nevertheless, #ShePersisted pic.twitter.com/1fK8VNvItI
— Edana (@RedSaid) February 8, 2017
Meet my fists. She & Persisted.
— Laurie Crosswell 🌞 (@lauriecrosswell) February 8, 2017
Never. Tell. A. Woman. To. Shut. Up. #ShePersisted
— Grace Lidia Suárez (@gracels) February 8, 2017
She was warned. She was given an explanation Nevertheless #shepersisted. pic.twitter.com/kMoe8Has4h
— Marionstein (@Marionstein) February 8, 2017
Is the irony of silencing #Warren for reading MLK's wife's letter during black history month wholly lost on R's? #LetLizSpeak #ShePersisted
— Brianna Nichols (@briannanichols) February 8, 2017
"Well behaved women seldom make history" #ShePersisted
— Jordan Callaghan (@JordanCallagh10) February 8, 2017
Nevertheless, #ShePersisted pic.twitter.com/yia5PVOsa9
— Mad Scientist Bin (@MissSinBin) February 8, 2017
I'm glad @SenateMajLdr has finally said something memorable. #ShePersisted
— christopher (@chrisvoros) February 8, 2017
"Nevertheless, she persisted" is a giant compliment. #LetLizSpeak #persist #resist
— lisalark (@RealLisaCSmith) February 8, 2017
She was warned. She was given an explanation. Nevertheless #shepersisted pic.twitter.com/kyUytu3mDU
— Wendy Willis (@zaythar) February 8, 2017
#ShePersisted. And so will the rest of us. #resist https://t.co/JHFVUJFR0J
— Heather Wiltse (@hrwiltse) February 8, 2017
.@SenateMajLdr will regret the words he used tonight. #shepersisted
— Lexa O (@LEXpressions) February 8, 2017
She was warned. She was given an explanation. Nevertheless #shepersisted.#SylviaMendez pic.twitter.com/ta24Nx4Rqz
— Marc Love (@marcslove) February 8, 2017
Coretta Scott King: patron saint of the secular order of Sisters of Perpetual Persistence! #ShePersisted https://t.co/YnpW7DpTRc
— Jen Bekman (@jenbee) February 8, 2017
God Bless @SenWarren . #ShePersisted and so will we. #resist https://t.co/LY9OCxlDfA
— Glennon Doyle Melton (@Momastery) February 8, 2017
Nevertheless, #ShePersisted pic.twitter.com/9xVMDbp31z
— Ladama (@ladama) February 8, 2017
God Bless @SenWarren . #ShePersisted and so will we. #resist https://t.co/LY9OCxlDfA
— Glennon Doyle Melton (@Momastery) February 8, 2017
* the sound of a million women updating their Twitter bios to read, "Nevertheless, she persisted" *
— Catherine Andrews (@candrews) February 8, 2017
Nevertheless, she persisted.
— Jan Horstmannshoff (@jhorstmannshoff) February 8, 2017
Guess this backfired on @SenateGOP. @SenWarren is a natural born leader. #letlizspeak #warren2020
She persisted. Tearing me up. Twitter you can be so beautiful. ✌️
— Leslie Liberatore (@hotskillet) February 8, 2017
Nevertheless, #ShePersisted pic.twitter.com/RIawd8HX7U
— femalepersuasion.net (@femalep) February 8, 2017
'Nevertheless she persisted' - a new badge of honour for bloody difficult women everywhere.
— Angela Patrick (@Angela__Patrick) February 8, 2017
#shepersisted is the story of women.
— Matthew Panzarino (@panzer) February 8, 2017
Nevertheless, #ShePersisted pic.twitter.com/0J3BR66aQ1
— Aimee Giese (@Greeblehaus) February 8, 2017
"Nevertheless, she persisted." Please let this also be my life's legacy.
— Olivia M (@oliviawithheart) February 8, 2017
So goddamn proud tonight that @SenWarren is my Senator. I'm with Her. #LetLizSpeak #ShePersisted
— hopps (@lady_pennyface) February 8, 2017
Nevertheless, #ShePersisted pic.twitter.com/y7bsyDo6IF
— Aimee Giese (@Greeblehaus) February 8, 2017
She was warned. She was given an explanation, and nevertheless #shepersisted. pic.twitter.com/CvgXojrqVS
— James B. Webb (@BrainRage) February 8, 2017
"NEVERTHELESS, SHE PERSISTED." -- every woman's epitaph now
— Emily Mitchell (@emilyreads) February 8, 2017
BRB gonna live my life so NEVERTHELESS, SHE PERSISTED is engraved on my tombstone https://t.co/EK4VJKU9VW
— Alisha Rai (@AlishaRai) February 8, 2017
She was warned. She was given an explanation. Nevertheless #shepersisted. pic.twitter.com/pdCESkl873
— Nyasha Junior (@NyashaJunior) February 8, 2017
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Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
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