'Apologize or resign': Democrats blast Kevin McCarthy for saying 'it will be hard to not hit' Nancy Pelosi with a gavel if he becomes speaker

Outraged Democrats demanded Kevin McCarthy apologize or resign for a comment he made where he threated to hit Nancy Pelosi with the speaker's gavel should he replace her in the House's top job. 

'Dear @GOPLeader McCarthy: Don’t you think America has had enough political violence? You should never be encouraging or threatening or joking about causing violence to anyone, including the Speaker of the House. You need to apologize for your statement, or resign,' wrote Democratic Rep. Ted Lieu of California.

Democratic Reps. Eric Swalwell and Jim McGovern also called on McCarthy to resign. 

Several other Democratic lawmakers took to Twitter to defend Pelosi and accused McCarthy of inciting violence against women. Several women noted McCarthy voted against the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act. McCarthy was one of 157 Republicans who voted against it in April 2019 although it did garner enough support to pass the House.

'Shocked to hear this language coming from the Minority Leader of the U.S. House of Representatives. Not shocked to hear it coming from someone who voted NO on the Violence Against Women Act. Violence is never a joke. Kevin McCarthy should be ashamed,' wrote Democratic Rep. Annie Kuster of New Hampshire. 

McCarthy's office shrugged off the criticism.

'There is no ‘fallout’ – it was a joke,' a McCarthy spokesman told DailyMail.com.

Democratic lawmaker are defending Speaker Nancy Pelosi after GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy threatened to hit her with the speaker's gavel

McCarthy's office told reporters the GOP leader was 'obviously joking' when he told a Republican fundraising dinner in Tennessee it would 'hard not to hit' Pelosi with the speaker's gavel should he take over the job. 

But lawmakers and Pelosi's office noted she was a target for assassination on January 6th by the pro-Donald Trump crowded that stormed the Capitol and invaded her office as her staff hide from the rioters.

'A threat of violence to someone who was a target of a #January6th assassination attempt from your fellow Trump supporters is irresponsible and disgusting,' wrote Drew Hamill, Pelosi's deputy chief of staff and longtime aide, on Twitter.

‘Not shocking to see @GOPLeader invoke violence against @SpeakerPelosi while he continues to deny the danger she and so many others, on both sides of the aisle, were in on January 6th. He owes the Speaker an apology,’ wrote Democratic Rep. Jan Schakowsky of Illinois on Twitter. 

Even Chef Jose Andres weighed in, criticizing McCarthy's comments: '.@GOPLeader People like me will be there front and center protecting women and women rights……That what you should be doing everyday….To protect every American women and girl, and also around the world……you may think is funny….but its is not! Women are the future…'

Threats to lawmakers have more than doubled this year, U.S. Capitol Police said earlier this summer.  

The fallout began almost immediately after McCarthy's remarks on Saturday became public. The GOP Leader was invited to speak to the 1,400 people attending the Statesmen's Dinner in Nashville, Tennessee - a big fundraising event for the state party. 

At the dinner, McCarthy was presented with an oversized gavel. If Republicans win control of the House in the 2022 midterm election, Pelosi would hand McCarthy a large gavel to symbolize his party taking over the chamber when the new House session begins in January 2023. McCarthy gave Pelosi the gavel in January 2019 after Democrats won control of the House in the 2018 election.

McCarthy said he'd invite everyone at the dinner to attend.  

'I want you to watch Nancy Pelosi hand me that gavel,' he added, before adding: 'It'll be hard not to hit her with it, but I will bang it down.' 

The audience roared and applauded his comment. 

Audio of the remarks from McCarthy were captured by Main Street Nashville. 

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy was presented with a comically large gavel at a Statesmen's dinner in Nashville on Saturday where he said: 'I want you to watch Nancy Pelosi hand me that gavel. It'll be hard not to hit her with it, but I will bang it down'

McCarthy invited all 1,400 attendees on Saturday in the instance Pelosi has to hand over the real gavel after the 2022 election

Richard Barnett, a supporter of Donald Trump, sits inside the office of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi on January 6th

One of the rioters on January 6th is seen threatening Pelosi

Tensions have been on the rise between Pelosi and McCarthy for weeks with neither holding back: Pelosi called McCarthy a 'moron' and McCarthy has referred to her as a 'lame duck speaker.'

The points of contention include the committee investigating January 6th and a new mandate to wear face masks in the Capitol.

At the January 6th hearing last week, committee members played never-before-seen footage from that day, including a rioter threatening the speaker.

A man is seen picking up a phone in the Capitol and saying:  'Can I speak to Pelosi? We're coming b***h.'

The rioters broke into Pelosi's office and sat at her desk that day. Pelosi's staff hid under a conference room table with the door locked. 

Pelosi rejected two of McCarthy's picks – Representatives Jim Jordan and Jim Banks – for her the committee investigating the events surrounding the January 6 Capitol riot.

The GOP leader ended up pulling all five of his nominees in response.

Instead, Pelosi chose Republican Representative Adam Kinzinger, a Trump critic, to join the group. She had already appointed Rep. Liz Cheney. 

Here McCarthy hands over the Speaker's gavel to Pelosi on January 3, 2019 after Democrats took back the House majority in the 2018 midterm elections

McCarthy and Pelosi are also publicly at odds after the Centers for Disease and Prevention released updated guidance last week saying even fully vaccinated Americans should return to wearing masks indoors in high transmission areas.

The Attending Physician of the Capitol then reimplemented mask mandates for House lawmakers and their staff last week. The Senate has not taken such measures but has a higher rate of vaccination.

Pelosi on Wednesday called McCarthy a 'moron' for opposing new mask guidelines, which he said he objected too because there was no 'science' behind the decision.

Getting into her SUV, Pelosi was heard muttering of McCarthy: 'He's such a moron.'

McCarthy claimed the new guidelines from CDC on face masks were not 'based on science' but from 'liberal government officials.'

'Make no mistake - the threat of bringing masks back is not a decision based on science, but a decision conjured up by liberal government officials who want to continue to live in a perpetual pandemic state,' McCarthy wrote on Twitter Tuesday.

Asked later to clarify her remark, Pelosi didn't deny it.

'To say that wearing a mask is not based on science, I think it's is not wise, and that was my comment and that's all I'm gonna say about that,' she clarified.

McCarthy snapped back sarcastically by telling reporters on Capitol Hill: 'Well, if she's so brilliant, can she tell me where the science in the building changes between the House and the Senate? Can she explain to me when the CDC says only vaccinated people need to wear a mask in hotspots?'