Kansas Congresswoman Lynn Jenkins, of Topeka, drew national attention Thursday when she pushed back against President Donald Trump over a tweet that was widely condemned for being offensive and demeaning toward a female TV news anchor. 

The exchange began Thursday morning when the president, in a series of tweets, lashed out at the MSNBC news program “Morning Joe,” and in particular its cohost, Mika Brzezinski. 

The tweets read: “I heard poorly rated @Morning_Joe speaks badly of me (don’t watch anymore).  Then how come low I.Q. Crazy Mika, along with Psycho Joe, came … to Mar-a-Lago 3 nights in a row around New Year’s Eve, and insisted on joining me.  She was bleeding badly from a face-lift.  I said no!” 

The show, whose main host is Joe Scarborough, a former Republican congressman, has been highly critical of Trump and his administration, but it wasn’t immediately clear what, in particular, had prompted Trump’s tweets. 

The tweets drew harsh and immediate reaction from across the political spectrum, including many congressional Republicans like Jenkins who have been working to advance Trump’s legislative agenda in Congress, including his efforts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare. 

“This is not okay,” Jenkins replied with her own tweet later in the morning. “ As a female in politics I am often criticized for my looks.  We should be working to empower women.” 

Jenkins did not respond to the Journal-World’s request to elaborate on that statement.  But she did appear mid-day on CNN where she was interviewed by journalist Wolf Blitzer. 

“It’s not acceptable.  We need to demand better of folks in positions like myself or the president,” Jenkins said on CNN. “ We have a lot of things that we’re working on here on Capitol Hill.  The Senate is wrestling with health care, how to save the broken system that we have today.  In the House we’re focused on tax reform and how to get the economy moving and people back to work and wages increased.  We would just appreciate it if the president could focus with us on doing some really good things for the American people and leave comments like that to himself.” 

Third District Rep. Kevin Yoder, an Overland Park Republican, also responded to Trump’s tweets. 

“I don’t believe the President’s tweets this morning Make America Great Again,” he said in one tweet of his own. “ We need more civility in our rhetoric.  These kinds of mean-spirited attacks don’t help us come together as Americans.” 

The Journal-World sought additional comments from all members of the Kansas congressional delegation.  Republican Sen. Jerry Moran was the only one who responded. 

“These kinds of comments have no place in our political discourse,” Moran said in a statement emailed by his office.