But Ardern herself is preferring to ignore the rant: “I don’t know that I’m going to give that the light of day, that comment,” she said when asked about it. “I think I’ll just leave it where it is.”
As we reported yesterday, Jones asked if Morrison will be “fully briefed to shove a sock down her throat” over comments Ardern has made regarding Australia’s response to climate change in the Pacific. He also called her, “a joke, a fool and a lightweight.”
Morrison told The Guardian from Tuvalu that the comment was unacceptable.
“The comment has been relayed to me; on what’s been reported to me, I find that very disappointing and of course that’s way out of line,” he said.
“I have two daughters, so you can expect that’s how I would feel personally about it. I’ll leave others to explain what they’ve said and how they’ve said it.”
Meanwhile, other Pacific leaders — who were also targeted by Jones in sections of the rant — have also hit back at Jones.
“Easy to tell someone to shove a sock down a throat when you’re sitting in the comfort of a studio,” Fijian PM Frank Bainmarama said on Twitter.
“The people of the Pacific, forced to abandon their homes due to climate change, don’t have that luxury. Try saying it to a Tuvaluan child pleading for help.”
Former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said Jones should apologise for his “latest misogynistic rant”.
Well said Frank. Jones should also apologise to @jacindaardern for his latest misogynistic rant. When I announced Australia’s Pacific Step Up in 2016 climate action was a key priority. It may be political to some, but it’s existential in the Pacific. https://t.co/f3OGxvp01N
— Malcolm Turnbull (@TurnbullMalcolm) August 15, 2019
Meanwhile, Chang.org petitions have been created calling for Jones to be taken off air, while a number of Women’s Agenda readers have told us they have already made formal complaints regarding a potential breach of the Comercial Radio Code of Practice.
But Jones believes those criticising his comments have done so with “wilful misinterpretation”.
He told The New Daily that’s he’s noted “some concern” about his comment.
“Of course what I meant to say was that Scott Morrison should tell Ms Ardern to ‘put a sock in it’.”
“There are many people who would relish the opportunity to misinterpret things that I have said as we have seen online this afternoon. Of course I would not wish any harm to Jacinda Ardern.
“This wilful misinterpretation distracts from my point that she was wrong about climate change and wrong about Australia’s contribution to carbon dioxide levels.”
Actually the comment was pretty clear, you can listen to it for yourself here.
And somebody at 2GB seems to have thought he went too far — with the comment removed from the headline on the station’s website story regarding Jones’ attack on Ardern. The audio of the comment has also been removed from the story post, although it appeared there yesterday.
And of course we’re also all aware of Jones’ record on attempting to takedown powerful women — with Julia Gillard, Louise Herron, Clover Moore all high profile targets.