House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy is selling 'moron' t-shirts to fundraise off anti-mask sentiment

"Moron" t-shirt being sold by WinRed (left), House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. (right).

Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

• House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy is fundraising off of "moron" t-shirts.
• The merch is a reference to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi calling him one for opposing mask mandates.
• The fundraising blast says "HE NEEDS YOU to get this t-shirt" as a "top patriot."
• See more stories on Insider's business page.

After House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy "such a moron," the GOP leader is now fundraising off of it.

Pelosi took aim at McCarthy over a mask mandate being reinstated in the House at the behest of the Capitol's attending physician, given the rise of the COVID-19 Delta variant.

-Daniella Diaz (@DaniellaMicaela) July 28, 2021

While Pelosi and McCarthy never had a particularly strong rapport as partisan rivals, their relationship has grown increasingly bitter and hostile in the aftermath of the Capitol siege. McCarthy echoed former President Trump's lies about the 2020 election being stolen and refused to reprimand his members who downplayed the severity of the January 6 insurrection.

McCarthy's fundraising call, which was processed by WinRed, tells supporters that they should buy the merchandise if they consider themselves a "top patriot."

"Nancy Pelosi JUST CALLED Kevin McCarthy a 'moron' for opposing the mask mandate," the message reads. "You're a top patriot and HE NEEDS YOU to get this t-shirt to oppose HER & the Radical Socialist Left."

Donations ranging from $25 to $2,900 allow voters to secure the t-shirt.

McCarthy's office did not return Insider's request for comment.

Re-appropriating the opposing party's insults has become an increasingly popular fundraising tactic in the era of online donations.

In 2016, Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton's "basket of deplorables" line led to Trump supporters identifying themselves as "deplorables," with GOP candidates and independent vendors selling a variety of merch bearing the moniker.

WinRed has concerned campaign finance watchdogs for allowing donors to exceed the individual limit under federal law, leading the Trump 2020 campaign to refund over $122 million in donations.

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