'They'll March In Line With Him': Chuck Schumer Decries GOP's Obsequiousness Towards Trump

5 months ago

During remarks on the Senate floor, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) criticized the GOP for obeying Trump's wishes over party politics and principles.

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Transcript

00:00Mr. President, this week, the city of Washington becomes the command post of liberal democracy.

00:06It was my great honor to join earlier this morning with Leader McConnell and with my

00:10Democratic and Republican colleagues welcoming to the Senate the Secretary General of NATO,

00:15as well as leaders of the UK, Germany, Sweden, and Finland. For the first time ever,

00:22we were proud to welcome the leaders of NATO to us new members, Sweden and Finland.

00:30Standing in the same room with NATO's newest members, Sweden and Finland was a proud moment

00:35for us senators. It was a culmination of the work that began two years ago when the Senate,

00:41in a bipartisan way, overwhelmingly approved their accession to the alliance.

00:47I told the leaders of NATO that America will never turn its back on the alliance.

00:53I told them the Senate will always hold up its end to the bargain to support NATO and ensure

00:58we have the tools to keep the free world safe. And I urged everyone in the room to continue

01:04standing firmly with Ukraine. I applaud the members of NATO for their major announcement

01:09of a new round of aid that will help soldiers on the battlefield, brave Ukrainian soldiers.

01:16Later today, I'll also meet with Ukrainian President Zelensky at a bipartisan meeting

01:21of senators. And we will affirm yet again that the U.S. stands with them until the job is done.

01:26A few months ago, the Senate showed what leadership looks like by passing a sweeping

01:31supplemental package that delivered weapons and ammo and air defenses and missiles

01:35for Ukrainian soldiers. Unfortunately, sadly, many extremists on the hard right,

01:42led by Donald Trump, didn't want to send so much as a nickel to help Ukraine.

01:48They would have preferred to let Putin have his way in Europe. The hard right's softness

01:53towards Putin is a prime example of why they cannot be trusted to protect America on the

01:58world stage. I'm glad their opposition to Ukraine aid was ultimately unsuccessful.

02:03But a majority of Republicans in this chamber voted against that aid. And what really bothered

02:08me, Mr. President, was so many of the Republican Party has been a strong, anti-communist,

02:15hawkish party since the days of Ronald Reagan, maybe earlier. And all of a sudden,

02:21when Donald Trump, whose knowledge of foreign policy is negligible, to put it kindly,

02:27it's often wrong, they turn around and do 180 degrees and oppose giving aid to Ukraine,

02:36and instead start to smile upon Putin. That, my fellow Americans, is a warning of what a

02:43Republican-controlled Senate would do if, God forbid, Trump becomes president.

02:47They would turn around on all their principles. Donald Trump could, on a whim,

02:52say something. And all of a sudden, yes, sir, they'll march in line with him.

02:56This Ukrainian example was a sad one.

'They'll March In Line With Him': Chuck Schumer Decries GOP's Obsequiousness Towards Trump

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