President Donald Trump attacked Senator Chuck Schumer on Friday and tried to goad Rep. Alexandria-Ocasio Cortez into challenging him. Schumer isn’t up for reelection until 2022.
“Cryin’ Chuck Schumer was on a late night show using a false talking point over & over again. ‘We don’t have enough testing , he would repeat, when he knows we have done a great job on Testing, just like we have on Ventilators and everything else,” Trump tweeted.
He was referring to an interview Schumer gave to Stephen Colbert on Thursday.
“He lied, gave NY SALT. Run AOC!” Trump urged.
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Cryin’ Chuck Schumer was on a late night show using a false talking point over & over again. “We don’t have enough testing ,” he would repeat, when he knows we have done a great job on Testing, just like we have on Ventilators and everything else. He lied, gave NY SALT. Run AOC!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 1, 2020
SALT is a reference to the Republican changes in state tax deductions in a budget heavily pushed by Trump. Schumer opposed the change.
The President repeated basically the same criticisms in a second tweet. It’s not clear if this was intentional.
“Cryin Chuck Schumer, compared to what other Senators have brought home to their states, has brought very little back to N.Y.,” he said.
“A totally overrated loser, the one thing he has given them is SALT. He never even called me to stop it. No wonder Cuomo & most others can’t stand him.”
He ended the tweet by writing “AOC” with no other context.
Schumer was reelected to the Senate in 2016 with more than 70% of the vote, while Ocasio-Cortez is a freshman congresswoman.
The senior Democrat won’t face election again until 2022 – by which time Trump could be out of office.
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Darragh Roche is a journalist covering U.S. politics and media
