{"id":2261,"date":"2026-06-12T08:04:35","date_gmt":"2026-06-12T08:04:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=2261"},"modified":"2026-06-12T08:04:35","modified_gmt":"2026-06-12T08:04:35","slug":"top-republican-wants-nc-democrats-disciplined-after-explicit-language-in-video","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=2261","title":{"rendered":"Top Republican wants NC Democrats \u2018disciplined\u2019 after explicit language in video"},"content":{"rendered":"

AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.<\/p>\n

Read our AI Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n

A top leader in the Republican-controlled state House is calling for two Democratic lawmakers to be punished for appearing in a video with profanity that describes frustration with Republicans and the state\u2019s delayed budget.<\/p>\n

Read more Celebrities React to Spencer Pratt Losing Race for L.A. Mayor<\/a><\/p>\n

House Majority Leader Brenden Jones shared a statement<\/u><\/a> on Thursday morning that asks House Democratic Leader Robert Reives to \u201cdiscipline\u201d any member of the House Democratic Caucus involved in creating the video. He also asks Reives to investigate any Democratic staff members \u201cwho filmed these videos on legislative time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rep. Vernetta Alston, who represents Durham, posted a video<\/u><\/a> on Instagram and Facebook on Monday featuring Alston and Senate Democratic Leader Sydney Batch, where Batch served as Alston\u2019s \u201canger interpreter\u201d as they discussed their frustrations with the state legislature\u2019s nearly one-year delay on passing a comprehensive state budget. The video parodied sketch comedy duo Key and Peele\u2019s \u201cObama\u2019s Anger Translator\u201d sketch<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In the video, Batch repeatedly used explicit language \u2014 which was mostly bleeped out \u2014 and Alston explained the Democrats\u2019 frustration calmly and without profanity. The 2-minute, 18-second video had 12 expletives.<\/p>\n

\u201cInstead of doing their jobs, Republicans are acting like a bunch of little (expletive) because they can\u2019t deliver a budget,\u201d Batch said in her first comment. The expletive was bleeped.<\/p>\n

Republican leadership have signaled that a budget is in the works after announcing a budget agreement in mid-May.<\/u><\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThe people of North Carolina deserve elected officials who understand the seriousness of the offices they hold,\u201d Jones wrote in his statement. \u201cInstead, Democratic leaders chose to post a video filled with profanity, political insults, and juvenile stunts. This conduct is beneath the dignity of the North Carolina General Assembly and beneath the standards our constituents expect from us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alston \u201ctranslated\u201d for Batch throughout the video, saying that without a budget, the state cannot fund needs like education and infrastructure. She also assured constituents that Democrats have an agenda to improve the daily lives of North Carolinians.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs long as Sen. Batch has been around, you\u2019d think she\u2019d already know that our projects are still being funded, and state employees are still being paid,\u201d Rep. Wyatt Gable, a Jacksonville Republican, said on X<\/a>. \u201cDemocrats should avoid chiming in on fiscal policy, since the last time they were in control, our state was in billions of dollars of debt.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are two teams,\u201d Batch said in the video. \u201cDemocrats, who are trying to make sure that you\u2019re not homeless and starving, and these (expletive) Republicans who don\u2019t give a (expletive) about you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Senate leader Phil Berger, a Rockingham County Republican, told reporters that he has heard about the video but has not yet seen it.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI\u2019m glad she\u2019s got something to do,\u201d he told reporters. \u201cIt seems to me that it\u2019s a distraction,\u201d he added later.<\/p>\n

Batch told reporters that Republicans should be focusing on addressing rising costs and poverty and increasing pay for state employees.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere is their moral indignation when we\u2019re talking about the things that really matter to North Carolinians?\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Batch told The News & Observer in a press conference that she believes that Republicans are using her profanity to distract from the message of the video.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I would say is that while they want to distract from words that I choose to use in satire [which] is really disappointing, given the fact that they literally bend over and shake hands with and applaud a president who has, not in satire, said some of the most offensive things in this country,\u201d Batch said.<\/p>\n

\u201cRep. Jones can say whatever the heck he wants, but the last time I checked, maybe he should open up a dictionary, read the word \u2018satire,\u2019 and understand what that video is,\u201d she told reporters later.<\/p>\n

Jones is known for his intense questioning during hearings for the House Oversight and Reform Committee, which he chairs.<\/p>\n

In December, Jones threw books during a heated hearing<\/u><\/a> with Chapel Hill-Carrboro school leaders about their compliance with a state law that defines how parents are informed about their children and creates regulations around teaching about sexuality in elementary schools.<\/p>\n

Jones was displeased with content in the books, which were linked on the district\u2019s site. He attacked George Griffin, who was the school board chair, and Superintendent Rodney Trice.<\/p>\n

Read more How to get Carolina Hurricanes tickets for Lenovo\u2019s Game 6 watch party<\/a><\/p>\n

This story was originally published June 11, 2026 at 3:15 PM.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rep. Brenden Jones asks for discipline and staff probes after Sen. Sydney Batch and Rep. 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