This is what gets a laugh in Republican circles these days -- House Minority Leader and dull blade Kevin McCarthy "joking" about hitting Nancy Pelosi with an oversized gavel during a Republican fundraiser in Nashville Tennessee this weekend:

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy joked about casual violence against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi during a glitzy fundraising dinner in Tennessee on Saturday night, according to several reporters who were at the event.

During a speech to around 1,400 GOP donors, McCarthy reportedly spoke optimistically about the Republicans' chances for retaking the majority in the House following the 2022 midterm elections.

McCarthy went on to say that, should the GOP manage to flip the House in 2022 and if he were to become the speaker, he would find it difficult to resist hitting Pelosi with the speaker's gavel, The Washington Post's Michael Scherer said on Twitter.

"It will be hard not to hit her with it but I will bang it down," McCarthy joked, according to Scherer.

Vivian Jones posted the audio to Twitter:

McCarthy's remarks were met with the scorn they deserved in response.