- A GOP group is selling t-shirts with the slogan "Notorious ACB", emblazoned with the image of President Trump's Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett.
- The slogan appropriates the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's nickname: The Notorious RBG.
- The group is being accused of a ghoulish lack of respect for Ginsburg, a feminist icon whose positions were on many positions the opposite to those of hardline conservative Barrett.
A Republican group stands accused of showing disrespect to late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg by selling t-shirts hijacking her nickname to support President Donald Trump's nominated replacement.
The t-shirts were advertised online Saturday by the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), which fundraises for GOP US Senate campaigns. They went on sale shortly after President Donald Trump nominated Judge Amy Coney Barrett, a hardline social conservative, to replace Ginsburg.
They are emblazoned with an image of Trump's Supreme Court nominee, Amy Coney Barrett wearing a crown, and the slogan 'Notorious ABC."
"Notorious A.C.B." "Chip in $25 TODAY to claim a special edition NOTORIOUS A.C.B. shirt!" reads the tweet.
—The Senate Majority (@NRSC) September 26, 2020
The slogan refers to the nickname used by fans of feminist icon Ginsburg — the Notorious RBG — which was also the title of a 2015 biography by Irin Carmon and Shana Knizhnik celebrating her achievements.
But with Ginsburg's body lying in state at the US Capitol only days ago, the committee is being accused of a ghoulish lack of respect, with critics on Twitter describing the campaign as "disrespectful" and "gross."
—Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) September 27, 2020
The NRSC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Ginsburg died, aged 87, of complications from cancer on September 18.
Her death means that the Supreme Court's balance will lean decisively towards the right, with Barrett having taken anti-abortion and pro-gun rights positions.
At the ceremony naming her as Ginsburg's successor Saturday, Barrett paid tribute to the late justice, describing her as "a woman of unparalleled achievement, towering intellect and sterling credentials."
Ginsburg's nickname was a humorous reference to rapper the Notorious BIG, whose real name was Christopher Wallace. Both were pugnacious New Yorkers from Brooklyn, and in interviews before her death Ginsburg said she was amused by being compared to the hip hop legend.
"Brooklyn, New York, represents no fear, confidence, and speaking your truth, and my dad and Justice Ginsburg lived those words," the rapper's son, CJ Wallace, told NBC News in a statement.
