Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R.) on Thursday condemned sexual harassment in the workplace and said it is "not a partisan issue," before adding that she has not personally been sexually harassed.
MSNBC reporter Kasie Hunt stopped Palin, the 2008 Republican vice presidential candidate, in the U.S. Capitol to discuss sexual harassment in the workplace amid several high-profile reports of women, and some men, coming forward to tell their stories.
"It's not a partisan issue, so when we see this happening today, I think that it leads to a lot of questions about what standards are going to be applied to whom," Palin said.
Hunt followed up by asking Palin whether she has ever experienced sexual harassment in the workplace as an "ambitious woman" in public life.
"I think a whole lot of people know that I'm probably packing, and so I don't think there's a whole lot of people who would necessarily mess with me," said Palin, a vocal advocate of the Second Amendment. "I don't mean to be lighthearted; this is a serious issue."
"It really stinks for women in the workplace that for too long, men have thought they can get away with kind of being that old-school thinking that it's OK to belittle and harass women," Palin continued.
Palin's comments about sexual harassment came hours after Democratic Sen. Al Franken (Minn.) was accused of groping and kissing KABC anchor Leeann Tweeden without her consent during a rehearsal for a skit for troops during a USO tour in the Middle East in 2006.
"The floodgates are really open right now," Palin said. "That could lead to a lot of false accusations that really harm an innocent person."
Palin's comments about false accusations may have been a reference to the sexual misconduct allegations against Alabama Republican Senate candidate Roy Moore.
A Washington Post report from last week described the stories of four women, who said that Moore pursued relationships with them while they were teenagers and he was in his 30s. One of the women said that she was 14 when he pursued her and initiated a sexual encounter. Five more women have come forward to accuse him of sexual misconduct since the initial report.
Palin endorsed Moore in the Republican primary against Luther Strange a few months ago.