Chuck Schumer Torches Trump for Calling for ‘Execution’ of Democrats: ‘Some of His Supporters May Well Listen’
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) called for President Donald Trump to be “condemned forcefully” for “calling for the execution of elected officials” on Thursday.
Schumer took to the Senate floor and opened his remarks by making note of several social media posts from Trump.
In one Truth Social post, Trump called for a number of Democratic lawmakers to be arrested and put on trial over a video in which they encouraged military service members to “stand up for our laws and our Constitution.” The lawmakers claimed the military is being pitted against citizens and declared, “Don’t give up the ship.”
The president also shared a post in which he wrote, “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!”
Schumer warned some of Trump’s followers might take the posts as “permission” to commit violence.
The Democratic leader said:
The president of the United States is calling for the execution of elected officials. This is an outright threat and it’s deadly serious. We’ve already seen what happens when Donald Trump tells his followers that his political opponents are enemies of the state. Every time Donald Trump posts things like this, he makes political violence more likely. None of us should tolerate this kind of behavior.
Schumer ripped Trump for lighting a “match” in a country “soaked with political gasoline,” warning some supporters may take things too far.
“When Donald Trump uses the language of execution and treason, some of his supporters may very well listen. He is lighting a match in a country soaked with political gasoline. Every senator, every representative, every American, regardless of party, should condemn this immediately and without qualification. Because if we don’t draw a line here, there is no line left to draw,” he said.
He accused Trump of stooping lower than any other president with the posts and called for him to be condemned “forcefully and loudly.”
Schumer argued:
If we don’t draw a line here, there is no line left to draw. Who would have thought the President of the United States saying his opponent should be hanged? It’s outrageous. No president has ever stooped as low as Donald Trump. He has made political violence a feature of his politics. And if we don’t draw a line here, there’s no line left. And yet today he crossed yet another line that no democracy can afford to tolerate. He must be condemned forcefully, loudly, and without excuses before someone takes his words as permission to do the unthinkable.
Watch above via CSPAN.
