Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer on Sunday harshly criticized President Donald Trump’s supporters who booed his comments about inclusiveness moments before Trump was inaugurated.
“The fact that saying these things which are usually accepted by every American met the displeasure of the crowd doesn’t speak too kindly of that crowd,” Schumer, a New York Democrat, told CNN’s Jake Tapper on “State of the Union.”
“Just the people who booed,” Schumer quickly added. “I’m sure it wasn’t most of them.”
In a speaking slot minutes before Trump, Schumer had issued a call for inclusiveness from the podium Friday.
“Whatever our race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity; whether we are immigrants or native-born; whether we live with disabilities or do not; in wealth or in poverty; we are all exceptional in our commonly held yet fierce devotion to our country,” Schumer had said.
His remarks highlighted Democratic concerns about Trump’s hard-line immigration policies, his mocking of a disabled journalist and more — and were met with boos from some members of the crowd.
“That speech, given with any other president, with any other audience, would have been cheered. It’s not controversial language to say we’re all Americans. It’s not controversial language to reach out to others who might not be exactly like you,” Schumer said Sunday. “And so, the fact that people didn’t like it speaks poorly of them, not of what I said in the speech.”
Schumer said Trump ought to redirect audience members who booed.
“The President-elect ought to lead. When his followers do things like that, he ought to speak positively about being inclusive and being American. The speech should have been aimed at bringing people together, as Ronald Reagan’s speech was, as Franklin Roosevelt’s speech was, Democratic and Republican,” Schumer said.