Who Is Bruce Fischer? Nebraska Senator's Husband Refuses Handshake With Kamala Harris In Viral Video
A video of Nebraska Senator Deb Fischer's husband Bruce Fischer ignoring Vice President Kamala Harris and her attempted handshake during the swearing-in ceremony for the 119th Congress on January 6 has gone viral on social media.
Here's the video of the moment:
Who Is Bruce Fischer?
Bruce Fisher, who hails from Valentine, Nebraska met Deb Fischer at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. The duo married each other in 1972. The couple runs a ranching business in Nebraska Sandhills according to the senator's official website. The couple has three sons and three grandchildren.
About The Incident
The clip showed Harris extending her hand to greet the Nebraska Senator's husband. However, she was met with a head nod instead. The incident prompted many reactions from social media users.
One user on X said, "He's so blatant about it! The stones on this guy. I want to be just like him when I grow up!"
Another user commented, "This is the energy that we need with democrats for the next 4 years. We’ve been disrespected for way too long."
"Looks to me like he has had enough of their contempt for the American People as well," said a third person.
"I don’t think this was on purpose but if it was it is highly inappropriate," wrote a fourth person.
A fifth person on the Elon Musk-led website added, "Looks like even Nebraska’s finest know a handshake with Kamala is like shaking hands with a political blender—full of mixed signals and awkwardness. Respect to Mr. Fischer for avoiding that train wreck!"
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GOP Senator's Husband Snubs Harris' Handshake During Swearing-In Ceremony
The husband of a Republican senator refused to shake Vice President Kamala Harris’ hand during his wife’s swearing-in ceremony on Friday, as seen in a now-viral video that captured the awkward exchange.
Sen. Deb Fischer (R.-Neb.) appeared to be all smiles while being sworn in by Harris for her third term in the U.S. Senate while standing alongside her husband, Bruce Fischer.
The moment appeared to turn frosty, however, as the senator repeatedly nudged her husband to stand closer to the vice president as he held a cane with one hand and a Bible in the other.
“It’s OK, I won’t bite. I’m not going to bite. Don’t worry,” a smiling Harris is heard telling him as he appears to avert his gaze and keep his eyes on the Bible.
Deb Fischer shook Harris’ hand after completing her oath and thanked the vice president. When Harris expressed congratulations to the senator’s husband, he offered a short “thank you” and then dropped his newly freed left hand and put it in his pants pocket, prompting a raised-eyebrows reaction from Harris.
The senator shared photos of the event on her social media account along with a pledge about continuing to stand together.
“Together we will continue to stand tall for our shared values and take care of our people. We will protect this nation. We will build a stronger Nebraska. And we will secure that brighter future for our children and grandchildren,” her post read.
Representatives for her office did not immediately respond to HuffPost’s request for comment Monday on the handshake (or lack thereof).
Senator Deb Fischer’s husband refuses to shake Kamala Harris’s hand and sparks backlash (WATCH)
Bruce Fischer refused to make any eye or physical contact with America’s first female, first Black woman and first South Asian vice president.
A resurfaced clip of Nebraska Republican Senator Deb Fischer’s husband refusing to shake Vice President Kamala Harris‘s hand has gone viral on social media.
On Friday, Jan. 3, Harris performed her duty as vice president to swear in the new class of U.S. senators in the new 119th Congress — which includes both Democrats and Republicans. However, after Sen. Fischer was sworn in by Harris for her third term in office, her husband, Bruce Fischer, who held up the Bible during the swearing-in ceremony, deliberately declined to shake the vice president’s hand as she reached for his hand.
“Congratulations to you,” said the vice president as she extended her hand to Bruce Fischer after shaking his wife’s hand. Bruce Fischer instead looked down and simply nodded his head and said, “Thank you.” He refused to make any eye or physical contact with America’s first female, first Black woman and first South Asian vice president. Harris, who appeared taken aback by the snub, simply smiled and said, “You sure?”
In a statement, Senator Fischer celebrated her swearing-in. “I’m humbled by the faith and trust Nebraskans have placed in me as I take this oath for the third time. I will not break that trust, and I will not betray that faith,” said Fischer. “Together we will continue to stand tall for our shared values and take care of our people. We will protect this nation. We will build a stronger Nebraska. And we will secure that brighter future for our children and grandchildren.”
Many have slammed Bruce Fischer for his interaction with Vice President Harris after a video clip began circulating online, some pointing out the racial and gender implications of the exchange.
Political commentator Reecie Colbert wrote on X, “I’m tryna figure out why these MAGA … are still so mad? They won all the top prizes but they are still stank and rotten.” She added, “There’s no clearer example than Republican Bruce Fischer disrespecting VP Kamala Harris during his wife’s swearing in. She was gracious in that moment.”
Political influencer and creator of Thirst for Democracy, Qondi Ntini, wrote, “We will stop talking about race when people stop doing things like this.”
Aside from the controversy of Friday’s swearing-in ceremony, Vice President Harris returned to Capitol Hill on Monday to preside over the official certification of the 2024 presidential election, which she notably lost to President-elect Donald Trump. While remnants of the contentious election remain — evidenced by Bruce Fischer’s rejection of Harris — her participation on Monday was praised by Democrats.
In a video post announcing her role in certifying the election, Harris said, “As we have seen, our democracy can be fragile, and it is up to then each one of us to stand up for our most cherished principles.” She added, “And to make sure that in America, our government always remains of the people, by the people, and for the people.”
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Liberals accuse elderly husband of US senator of snubbing Harris’ handshake — here’s what really happened
Liberal netizens tore into Sen. Deb Fischer’s (R-Neb.) elderly husband Bruce for appearing to turn down Vice President Kamala Harris’ handshake last week, but viral footage that swirled online didn’t show that he was firmly grasping his cane.
During Sen. Fischer’s swearing-in ceremony last Friday, Harris, 60, shook the senator’s hand, thanked her for her work and then extended a handshake toward her husband and said “Congratulations to you.”
Bruce replied with a “Thank you” and rebuffed Harris’ outreach, prompting the VP to uncomfortably turn away and raise her eyebrows with an awkward expression on her face before standing next to him for a photo.
Sen. Fischer later went on to serve as a teller during the congressional certification of the 2024 presidential election results on Monday. Tellers are tasked with reading through the state electoral results.
Harris presided over the joint session of Congress for the certification.
But the encounter between Bruce and Harris started to go viral days after it occurred.
Despite other angles of the encounter showing Bruce’s right hand, which is typically used for handshakes, being occupied with the cane, liberal critics unleashed on him.
“The husband of a Republican senator just refused to shake hands or make eye contact with Vice President Harris. The level of class you can expect from MAGA,” liberal podcaster Brian Tyler Cohen jabbed on X.
“@SenatorFischer’s a—hole husband, Bruce, wouldn’t even look her in the eye. In the FULL video, he didn’t even want to stand next to her! Stop making excuses. He QUICKLY put his hand in his pocket so as not to touch her,” radio host Roland Martin sniped on X.
“It’s disgraceful that Bruce Fischer, husband to incoming GOP Senator Deb Fischer cannot muster a few seconds of class to shake the hands of @VP Kamala Harris. States. IMO, only thing Bruce showed here was that pigs don’t only live on farms. He is a pig,” author Don Winslow sneered.
Even some conservatives thought Bruce snubbed Harris.
“WOW! Nebraska Senator Deb Fischer’s husband REFUSED to shake Kamala’s hand and can barely look her in the eye. Thank you, sir, for representing every American whose lives were destroyed by her and Joe’s policies,” Newsmax host David J Harris Jr remarked on X.
“The husband of Nebraska Senator Deb Fischer just reached legendary status,” user Wall Street Mav said.
“Lots of folks commenting (positively or negatively) on Sen. Deb Fischer’s husband not shaking Kamala’s hand. The clipped video does not show that the hand the VP tried to shake was holding on to a cane,” Federalist editor-in-chief Mollie Hemingway wrote on X.
The Post reached out to spokespeople for both Fischer and Harris.
Last year, Sen. Fischer had been locked in a surprisingly competitive reelection bid in the 2024 cycle, against a strong showing from Independent hopeful Dan Osborn, an Independent in the typically ruby-red state.
Ultimately she prevailed. Ironically, after the swearing-in ceremony last Friday, Fischer served as a teller during the congressional certification of the 2024 election that took place Monday.
Republican Sen. Deb Fischer will win reelection in Nebraska’s Senate race, CNN projects
Republican Sen. Deb Fischer will win reelection in Nebraska, defeating an unexpectedly strong challenge from independent Dan Osborn, CNN projects.
Fischer was first elected to the Senate in 2012, when she became the first female senator elected to a full term in Nebraska. Prior to being elected to Congress, she served in Nebraska’s unicameral legislature.
Osborn, a Navy veteran and industrial mechanic, gave a tougher-than-expected challenge to Fischer.
Osborn and his allies outspent Republicans and garnered attention with buzzy ads, including one in which he burned the word “LIE” into a TV to knock attack ads from his opponent. In another spot, he called Fischer and her colleagues in the US Senate “a bunch of millionaires controlled by billionaires.”
He frequently labeled Fischer a “career politician” and criticized her for backtracking on her promise to run for only two Senate terms. Fischer, who will begin her third Senate term in January, said she changed her mind after realizing how important seniority is for members of Congress.
Fischer portrayed Osborn as a “Trojan horse” for Democrats and sought to tie him to party figures such as Vice President Kamala Harris, President Joe Biden, and Independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. Former President Donald Trump also sought to tie Osborn to the left in his endorsement of Fischer.
“Dan is a ‘Bernie Sanders Democrat’ who does not stand for Nebraska Values, and never will,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on September.
Osborn, meanwhile, painted himself as a populist and took policy positions that didn’t fit neatly into either party. He said he personally opposes abortion but thinks it should be legal and called himself a supporter of the Second Amendment. He backed lowering taxes on overtime pay, boosting benefits for servicemembers and veterans, and legalizing cannabis.
He declined support from the Democratic Party and refused to say which party he would caucus with if elected or to share who he voted for in 2020 or planned to vote for in 2024.
Nebraska Democrats, who said at one point they were in talks with Osborn to form a coalition, did not field a candidate or publicly back Osborn.
The state also held a special Senate election to fill the other seat left vacant by Republican Ben Sasse’s resignation.
Fischer wins Nebraska 2024 Senate election, CBS News projects. See the race results.
Washington — Sen. Deb Fischer will defeat independent candidate Dan Osborn in the Nebraska Senate race, keeping the seat for Republicans after a surprisingly competitive challenge in the normally deep red state, CBS News projects.
The outcome of the race had implications for the makeup of the Senate, delivering Republicans their 51st seat and cementing their majority in the upper chamber in the 2024 election.
Osborn is a 49-year-old political newcomer, a Navy veteran, mechanic and union leader who led the strike at Omaha's Kellogg plant in 2021. His campaign received a surge of outside funding that forced Republicans to redouble their efforts in a race that was thought to be an easy win. Osborn billed his challenge against Fischer as offering a change to the status quo, painting his opponent as an establishment politician controlled by corporate interests. He has pledged not to caucus with either Democrats or Republicans in the Senate if elected.
During her time in the Senate, Fischer, 73, has served on the powerful armed services and appropriations committees. She has a background as a cattle rancher and has seen easy victories in two previous contests against Democratic opponents. This cycle, she has described her independent challenger as a "Democrat in disguise" in the final weeks of the campaign, while leaning on an endorsement from former President Donald Trump.
Osborn has expressed positions generally shared by moderates, including opposition to national abortion restrictions, support for "reasonable gun safety measures" and stronger border security, while leaning into a populist message. In a recent ad, he likened his Republican opponent to Hillary Clinton, while highlighting areas where he is "with Trump" — on China, the border and "draining the swamp."
Senate bids from independent candidates under similar conditions in red states have previously fallen short, like in Utah in 2022 and Alaska in 2020. Nebraska is a solidly red state, with nearly twice as many registered Republicans as Democrats. But it's also home to a large share of nonpartisan voters. And without a Democrat in the race to draw the party's votes, the race appeared to be within striking distance for Osborn heading into Election Day.
