Uncounted millions of views on social media, picked up by national news network
By Paul Bean
Rep. Becca Balint (D-VT), Vermont’s first woman and openly LGBTQ+ member of Congress, ignited a viral firestorm of controversy following a remark made during a town hall in Newport Last week, claiming that without a path to get more immigrants here that we would not have anyone left to ‘wipe our a**es.’
VDC estimates our clip has been viewed 2.5 million times on X alone and millions more on national television.
What Balint was trying to say is that without increased immigration, there wouldn’t be enough people to perform essential jobs, for example in nursing homes where there is a shortage of workers in Vermont.
Her choice of words has drawn criticism from political opponents and sparked heated debate across the state and beyond.
“What a strange, dehumanizing thing to say” wrote Texas Senator Ted Cruz, sharing our clip which was also shared on the massive X account Libs of Tiktok. The video there now has 537.5K views.
“So did that…sound better in her head?” writes Utah Senator Mike Lee.
The video was initially posted to the Chronicle’s X page, where I and many more started to share it around with some of our contacts. With help from Vermont Republicans, we were able to get this video on the RNC Research X page. From there the video absolutely exploded.
The video also made primetime Fox News yesterday evening as well as Jesse Waters’ 8 PM news and commentary program. We will post those clips as soon as they are available.
Balint emphasized what she calls a need for legal pathways for immigrants to work and settle in the U.S., arguing that labor shortages are currently hurting our workforce, especially in Vermont.
However, her phrasing, which referenced a lack of workers to “wipe our a**es,” was deemed offensive by some, who interpreted it as reducing immigrants to menial labor roles.
Yesterday, at Governor Scott’s weekly press conference I asked him what Vermont was doing to ensure our nursing homes are staffed. “I actually think the nursing homes are doing a pretty good job at this point. We have increased their numbers, we’ve seen an increase in bed space availability over the last year or two. So I want to make sure that we recognize the hard work that they’re doing and the ground that they’ve made up,” said Governor Scott.
“Again we’re facing a workforce crisis in every single sector whether it’s healthcare or education or in transportation or in the trades, it’s everywhere. So the only way as I said earlier and said in my remarks, we need to turn our demographics around. I think one way to do that is to provide housing as well as make it more affordable in Vermont to live here,” he continued.
He also said he thought Becca’s remarks were “a poor choice of words.”
Vermont Republican Party Chairman Paul Dame condemned Balint’s statement, calling for an apology not only for the “crude choice of words” but also for what he described as a “disturbing sentiment” that implies immigrants are primarily valued for low-skill labor. “At the heart of these remarks is an opinion so offensive and so profoundly out of touch that it reveals a fundamental lack of respect for those who come to this country—abiding by the rules—in pursuit of freedom, opportunity, and a better life,” Dame said in a statement.
Balint told Fox News Digital Tuesday that in the last four months, the Trump administration “has repeatedly wrongfully detained, deported, and disappeared people – an immoral violation of fundamental human rights…He has made immigrants, regardless of status, feel unsafe and targeted all around the country. As Vermonters, we’re so proud that we are seen as a safe place to land. I’m unwavering in my position that immigrants and refugees are welcome in Vermont and that every worker in every job deserves dignity and fair wages, from doctors and scientists to carpenters and farmworkers…I’ve relentlessly condemned the Trump administration’s cruel practices targeting and separating immigrant families, and I will continue to stand up for the rights of every person in this country.”
The Chronicle’s efforts to reach Balint’s office have been unsuccessful.