New Zealand’s prime minister is turning her hot mic gaffe into a charitable moment as she and her political rival plan to auction off her comment for charity.
ACT Party Leader David Seymour called the gesture a "very Kiwi resolution to what might be seen as a nasty incident."
"In the spirit of Christmas, we are going to raise money for the Prostate Cancer Foundation – raising money for p----s everywhere," Seymour wrote in a tweet, calling it a "great cause."
"A couple of people suggested parts of the idea, I put it together and suggested it to the prime minister, and she got it immediately," he added.
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Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern called Seymour an "arrogant p----" following an exchange in parliament. Seymour had asked if the government ever apologized for mistakes, referring to his belief that the ruling party had overreached with its COVID-19 response.
Seymour initially petitioned for Ardern to withdraw the comment and apologize, but the house speaker declined the request as it was not clear whether the parliament’s Hansard system had recorded the comment as part of the minutes.
A spokesperson for the prime minister confirmed to reporters that Ardern had apologized, and Seymour made light of the comment by telling the media that "some days I am a useless Māori, other days I am an arrogant p----," referring to other derogatory comments made by political rivals.
In an effort to put the moment behind them, Ardern and Seymour have agreed to sign a copy of the transcript that caught the comment and auction it off. The pair will then donate all proceeds to a prostate cancer charity, Radio New Zealand reported.
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The auction on Briscoe’s website will run from now until Dec. 21, and has already cleared its reserve with the current bid standing at $50,100 as of Thursday morning.
Seymour assured reporters that no awkwardness lingered between him and the prime minister, whom he has known for over a decade.
"I've had a relationship where I've known Jacinda for 11 years," Seymour explained. "We've debated each other in many different places. For a year, we had a duel running newspaper column in the Sunday Star."
"But I've never held any animosity to her personally, her intentions, or her sincerity, I think she knows that," he said.
