The New Zealand prime minister is turning her hot mic gaffe into a charity moment as she and her political rival plan to auction off her comment for charity.
ACT party leader David Seymour called the gesture a “very Kiwi resolution to what could be seen as a bad incident”.
“In the spirit of Christmas, we will be raising money for the Prostate Cancer Foundation, raising money for p—-everywhere,” Seymour wrote in a tweet, calling it a “great cause.”
“A couple of people suggested parts of the idea, I pieced it together and suggested it to the prime minister, and she picked it up immediately,” he added.
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Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern called Seymour an “arrogant p—-” after an exchange in parliament. Seymour had asked if the government had ever apologized for the mistakes, referring to his belief that the ruling party had overdone its response to COVID-19.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and ACT Party leader David Seymour sign a copy of Hansard’s transcript.
(Credit: @dbseymour)
Seymour initially asked Ardern to withdraw the comment and to apologise, but the Speaker of the House refused the request as it was unclear whether parliament’s Hansard system had recorded the comment as part of the minutes.
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A spokesman for the prime minister confirmed to reporters that Ardern had apologised, and Seymour downplayed the comment by telling media that “some days I’m a useless Māori, other days I’m an arrogant p—-“, referring to other derogatory comments made by political rivals.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and ACT Party leader David Seymour sign a copy of Hansard’s transcript.
(Credit: @dbseymour)
In an effort to put the moment behind them, Ardern and Seymour agreed to sign a copy of the transcript that captured the comment and put it up for auction. The couple will then donate all proceeds to a prostate cancer charity, Radio New Zealand reported.
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The auction on Briscoe’s website runs now through December 21, and he has already cleared his reserve with the current bid of $50,100 as of Thursday morning.
Seymour assured reporters there was no awkwardness between him and the prime minister, whom he had known for over a decade.
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“I’ve been in a relationship where I’ve known Jacinda for 11 years,” Seymour explained. “We discussed each other in many different places. For a year, we had a dueling newspaper column in the Sunday Star.”
“But I’ve never had any animosity with her personally, her intentions or her sincerity, I think she knows that,” he said.
