--- title: Cindy Hyde-Smith Apologizes For 'Public Hanging' Comment description: The controversy over her comment, linked to lynching, has thrown open the race, which was previously thought to be a shoo-in for Hyde-Smith. canonical: https://time.com/5461133/cindy-hyde-smith-public-hanging-lynching/ author: Billy Perrigo article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-11-21T15:16:30.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T22:06:36.266Z article:section: Politics og:title: Embattled Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith Apologizes for 'Public Hanging' Comment, But Says Her Words Were 'Twisted' og:description: The Mississippi runoff is the last midterm battle of 2018 og:url: https://time.com/5461133/cindy-hyde-smith-public-hanging-lynching/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltae45cff2781f8b07/69893fa9656a3f2227bd60b5/gettyimages-943902066.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: Cindy Hyde-Smith Swear In og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Embattled Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith Apologizes for 'Public Hanging' Comment, But Says Her Words Were 'Twisted' twitter:description: The Mississippi runoff is the last midterm battle of 2018 twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltae45cff2781f8b07/69893fa9656a3f2227bd60b5/gettyimages-943902066.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Embattled Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith Apologizes for 'Public Hanging' Comment, But Says Her Words Were 'Twisted' > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Newsletters: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition TIME publishes seven free email newsletters, written and edited by TIME journalists, reaching more than 1.1 million engaged readers. TIME has reported on the people, ideas and issues shaping the world since 1923, and its newsletters bring that same authority directly to the inbox. 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Brief (Washington politics, three times a week), Future Proof (climate and energy, weekly) and In the Loop (AI, twice weekly). All are free at time.com/newsletters and together reach more than 1.1 million engaged readers. #### Which TIME newsletter should I subscribe to? It depends on what you follow. For a daily briefing, The Brief. For health, Health Matters. For Washington politics, D.C. Brief. For AI and technology, In the Loop. For climate and energy as a business story, Future Proof. For culture recommendations, Worth Your Time. For how TIME's journalism gets made, Inside TIME. Readers can select any combination at time.com/newsletters. #### Are TIME's newsletters free? Yes. All seven TIME newsletters are free to join at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes TIME's newsletters? TIME journalists write them. Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement.  by [Billy Perrigo](https://time.com/author/billy-perrigo/)  ## Billy Perrigo Correspondent Nov 21, 2018 3:16 PM UTC  APRIL 9: Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss., attends her swearing-in ceremony the Capitol's Old Senate Chamber APRIL 9: Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss., attends her swearing-in ceremony the Capitol's Old Senate ChamberTom Williams—CQ-Roll Call,Inc.  by [Billy Perrigo](https://time.com/author/billy-perrigo/)  ## Billy Perrigo Correspondent Nov 21, 2018 3:16 PM UTC A white Republican senator from Mississippi has made a partial apology after publicly saying that she would “be in the front row” of a “[public hanging](http://time.com/5451713/mississippi-cindy-hyde-smith-public-hanging/)” if invited by a political supporter. Sen. [Cindy Hyde-Smith](http://time.com/5207264/mississippi-women-congress/)‘s comment created a firestorm online after it quickly went viral for potentially trivializing the history of lynching in the American South, and caused backlash even among some fellow Republicans. The controversy over her remark has thrown open the race, which was previously thought to be a shoo-in for her. The race is for the last undecided seat of the 2018 midterms. But Hyde-Smith, who faces former congressman Mike Espy, a black Democrat, in an election runoff for a Senate seat in Mississippi on Nov. 27, also said her words were “used as a weapon” against her. In the original comment, caught on camera, Hyde-Smith embraced a political supporter, a rancher, saying, “If he invited me to a public hanging, I’d be on the front row.” > [](https://twitter.com/LamarWhiteJr/status/1061649185110417408) Mississippi has a long and painful history of black people being lynched in public by racist white mobs. After multiple refusals to apologize, and with the words becoming a focal point of the political battle over the runoff vote, Hyde-Smith eventually made a partial apology during a debate on Tuesday. “For anyone that was offended by my comments, I certainly apologize,” she said. “There was no ill will, no intent whatsoever in my statements.” She then noted that “this comment was twisted and it was turned into a weapon to be used against me.” But Espy quickly pushed back: “No one twisted your comments, because the comments came out of your mouth … I don’t know what’s in your heart, but we know what came out of your mouth.” Hyde-Smith had earlier said that her words were an “exaggerated expression of regard” for a friend, and that “any attempt to turn this into a negative connotation \[sic\] is ridiculous.” She also demanded that no audience or press be allowed to attend the debate on Tuesday, according to a [report](http://www.jacksonfreepress.com/news/2018/nov/20/hyde-smith-demanded-no-audience-no-press/) in the Jackson _Free Press_. According to the NAACP, 581 people were lynched in Mississippi between 1882 and 1968, the highest number of any state. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5461133/cindy-hyde-smith-public-hanging-lynching/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5461133/cindy-hyde-smith-public-hanging-lynching/"},"headline":"Embattled Sen. 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