Liberal netizens tore into Sen. Deb Fischer’s (R-Neb.) elderly husband Bruce for appearing to turn down Vice President Kamala Harris’ handshake last week, but viral footage that swirled online didn’t show that he was firmly grasping his cane.
During Sen. Fischer’s swearing-in ceremony last Friday, Harris, 60, shook the senator’s hand, thanked her for her work and then extended a handshake toward her husband and said “Congratulations to you.”
Bruce replied with a “Thank you” and rebuffed Harris’ outreach, prompting the VP to uncomfortably turn away and raise her eyebrows with an awkward expression on her face before standing next to him for a photo.
Sen. Fischer later went on to serve as a teller during the congressional certification of the 2024 presidential election results on Monday. Tellers are tasked with reading through the state electoral results.
Harris presided over the joint session of Congress for the certification.
But the encounter between Bruce and Harris started to go viral days after it occurred.
Despite other angles of the encounter showing Bruce’s right hand, which is typically used for handshakes, being occupied with the cane, liberal critics unleashed on him.
“The husband of a Republican senator just refused to shake hands or make eye contact with Vice President Harris. The level of class you can expect from MAGA,” liberal podcaster Brian Tyler Cohen jabbed on X.
“@SenatorFischer’s a—hole husband, Bruce, wouldn’t even look her in the eye. In the FULL video, he didn’t even want to stand next to her! Stop making excuses. He QUICKLY put his hand in his pocket so as not to touch her,” radio host Roland Martin sniped on X.
“It’s disgraceful that Bruce Fischer, husband to incoming GOP Senator Deb Fischer cannot muster a few seconds of class to shake the hands of @VP Kamala Harris. States. IMO, only thing Bruce showed here was that pigs don’t only live on farms. He is a pig,” author Don Winslow sneered.
Even some conservatives thought Bruce snubbed Harris.
“WOW! Nebraska Senator Deb Fischer’s husband REFUSED to shake Kamala’s hand and can barely look her in the eye. Thank you, sir, for representing every American whose lives were destroyed by her and Joe’s policies,” Newsmax host David J Harris Jr remarked on X.
“The husband of Nebraska Senator Deb Fischer just reached legendary status,” user Wall Street Mav said.
“Lots of folks commenting (positively or negatively) on Sen. Deb Fischer’s husband not shaking Kamala’s hand. The clipped video does not show that the hand the VP tried to shake was holding on to a cane,” Federalist editor-in-chief Mollie Hemingway wrote on X.
The Post reached out to spokespeople for both Fischer and Harris.
Last year, Sen. Fischer had been locked in a surprisingly competitive reelection bid in the 2024 cycle, against a strong showing from Independent hopeful Dan Osborn, an Independent in the typically ruby-red state.
Ultimately she prevailed. Ironically, after the swearing-in ceremony last Friday, Fischer served as a teller during the congressional certification of the 2024 election that took place Monday.
