This Republican lawmaker is getting dragged for a terrible post about the Women's March

By Rafi Schwartz | January 23, 2017 | 5:44pm

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The Women’s Marches that took place around the world were a huge coming together of people—women and men alike—to stand against the Trump administration.

For Indiana State Senator Jack Sandlin, however, the march was apparently an opportunity for some good ol’ fashioned sexism.

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On Sunday, Sandlin, a Republican who represents Indiana’s 36th District, reportedly posted a picture on his personal Facebook page of one of the weekend’s marches. The image featured a crowd of women, many wearing the event’s now-iconic “pink pussy” hats, and while none of the women can be seen clearly, the picture featured a caption reading “In one day, Trump got more fat women out walking, than Michelle Obama did in 8 years.”

The message is an apparent reference to the former First-Lady’s longstanding focus on physical fitness and health during her time in the White House.

The picture was quickly taken down, and by early Monday morning, Sandlin had posted a response to the situation—one which was subsequently deleted several hours later, with no explanation offered. According to the Indianapolis Star, Sandlin’s message read:

Apparently there is an offensive post on Facebook that’s attributed to me about women in Washington marching. Not sure how that ended up on my Facebook wall but that certainly does not reflect my opinion of women. People who know me will know that’s not my view

Sandlin later issued a statement echoing the since-deleted Facebook response:

Yesterday, an offensive message related to the Women’s March on Washington appeared on my Facebook page. It’s unclear to me how this ended up on my page, but I have removed it. This message in no way represents my views toward women, and I sincerely apologize to anyone who may have seen it.

Speaking with the Star, Sandlin suggested that, despite his denials, it was possible he had mistakenly posted the offensive image, after all.

“I don’t believe that I put it there,” he told the paper. “There’s always an outside chance that I could have hit something. I know others that have had stuff show up on their Facebook wall as well.”

Across Twitter Sandlin’s post was immediately condemned:

As of Monday afternoon, Sandlin’s own Twitter account was set to private.