Republican Senators Run for the Hills to Avoid Comment on Trump’s Smear of Elderly Protester Attacked By Police
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Republican senators ran for the hills on Tuesday in an effort to avoid commenting on President Donald Trump’s recent suggestion that a 75-year-old protester who was attacked and hospitalized by police could have been an ANTIFA agitator.
After 75-year-old activist Martin Gugino was shoved by Buffalo police officers, which resulted in him falling back and banging his head as blood poured from his ear, President Trump tweeted, “Buffalo protester shoved by Police could be an ANTIFA provocateur.”
“75 year old Martin Gugino was pushed away after appearing to scan police communications in order to black out the equipment. @OANN I watched, he fell harder than was pushed. Was aiming scanner,” Trump theorized. “Could be a set up?”
Reporters quickly flocked Republican senators on Tuesday for their thoughts on the president’s post, but the majority of them were uninterested in providing much comment.
Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) told reporters, “I saw the tweet, it was a shocking thing to say, and I won’t dignify it with any further comment,” while Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), after reading a printed out version of Trump’s tweet given to her by Politico congressional reporter Burgess Everett, reportedly gasped and said, “Oh lord. Ugh… Again, why would you fan the flames? That’s all I’m going to say.”
ROMNEY on Pres Trump’s tweet this morning: “I saw the tweet, it was a shocking thing to say, and I won’t dignify it with any further comment.”
— Frank Thorp V (@frankthorp) June 9, 2020
Murkowski took me up on reading my crumpled print out of tweet.
She gasped and said
“Oh lord. Ugh”“Again, why would you fan the flames? That’s all I’m going to say”
— Burgess Everett (@burgessev) June 9, 2020
Many Republican senators, however, opted to tread lightly with their words or avoid commenting altogether.
Sen. John Thune (R-SD) told reporters “it’s a serious accusation,” but that “most of us up here would rather not be political commentators on the president’s tweets,” while Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) claimed, “I didn’t see it. you’re telling me about it. I don’t read Twitter. I only write on it.”
John Thune: “It’s a serious accusation which should only be made with facts and evidence and I haven’t seen any yet.”
Asked if the president should stop making such accusations, Thune said: “Well I think that’s a given.”
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) June 9, 2020
Thune added: “But most of us up here would rather not be political commentators on the president’s tweets. That’s a daily exercise … Like I said of what I seen, saw the tweet, saw the video, that’s serious accusation.”
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) June 9, 2020
“You know, a lot of this stuff just goes over my head,” Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) proclaimed.
“Voters can evaluate that,” said Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN). “I’m not going to give a running commentary on the president’s tweets.”
GOP senators ducking on Trump’s deranged tweet about elderly Buffalo man, to my colleague @mkraju:
Rubio: “I didn’t see it. you’re telling me about it. I don’t read Twitter. I only write on it.”
Cornyn: “You know, a lot of this stuff just goes over my head.”
— John Harwood (@JohnJHarwood) June 9, 2020
“Voters can evaluate that,” Sen. Lamar Alexander said, adding: “I’m not going to give a running commentary on the president’s tweets.”
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) June 9, 2020
Senators Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Kelly Loeffler (R-GA), Cory Gardner (R-CO) all tried to duck out when asked about the post, while Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) said, “I didn’t see it. I saw that he did fall and my heart goes out to anybody who gets hurt. Right now this is a tough time. I hope everybody understands that we can peacefully protest but we can’t riot.”
Tried to show Dan Sullivan the tweet, and he said: “I don’t want to comment right now. I’m on my way to a meeting. I’ll see it when I see it.”
Sen. Kelly Loeffler wouldn’t answer a question about the tweet as she hopped on an elevator along with an aide
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) June 9, 2020
SEN. CORY GARDNER (R-Colo.) declined to look at the tweet because he was worried about getting to the Senate floor for an outdoors bill, @burgessev reports.
— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) June 9, 2020
.@FoxReports read Sen. Rick Scott the tweet
He responded: “I didn’t see it. I saw that he did fall and my heart goes out to anybody who gets hurt. Right now this is a tough time. I hope everybody understands that we can peacefully protest but we can’t riot”
— Burgess Everett (@burgessev) June 9, 2020
Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND) commented, “I don’t think Donald Trump’s going to change his behavior,” and Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) said, “I think it would best if the president did not comment on issues that are before the courts.”
Sen. Cramer takes @ESCochrane copy of tweet, looks it over
“I don’t think Donald Trump’s going to change his behavior” and says he’s a lot more worried about country than the president’s tweets
— Burgess Everett (@burgessev) June 9, 2020
Sen. Collins: “I think it would best if the president did not comment on issues that are before the courts”
— Burgess Everett (@burgessev) June 9, 2020
Sen. Mike Braun (R-IN) claimed, “No real response to it so I don’t think it should be surprising in general because he tweets a lot.”
“No real response to it so I don’t think it should be surprising in general because he tweets a lot,” said Sen. Braun.
— Burgess Everett (@burgessev) June 9, 2020
President Trump’s post was criticized by social media users on the left and right.
