President Trump is known for firing off barbed tweets.
Now a Pennsylvania state legislator is using social media to attack the nation’s chief executive, speaking to him directly and calling Trump a “fascist, loofa-faced, s***-gibbon!” on Twitter and Facebook.
Wow, that was personal. Did Trump insult state Sen. Daylin Leach’s wife?
Nope. Leach’s outburst was inspired by a Politico article about a meeting Trump recently had with sheriffs from around the nation and a conversation during that meeting about asset forfeiture. That’s a legal practice in which a law enforcement agency seizes money and property that may have been obtained through criminal activities.
According to the article, Rockwall County, Texas, Sheriff Harold Eavenson mentioned that a state senator in Texas wanted to change the asset forfeiture law. The change would require that a person be convicted of a crime before his or her assets could be seized.
“Who is the state senator? Do you want to give his name? We’ll destroy his career,” Trump replied, according to Politico.
Leach is a Democrat whose Facebook feed is full of anti-Trump postings, though none were addressed directly to the President.
He has previously co-sponsored bills that attempted to reform asset forfeiture laws in Pennsylvania, his spokesman, Steve Hoenstine, said Thursday in an email.
After the Politico article ran, Leach posted on Facebook: “Hey! I oppose civil asset forfeiture too. Why don’t you come after me you fascist, loofa-faced s***-gibbon!!”
The lawmaker wasn’t finished.
A little later, Leach took to Twitter, Trump’s preferred platform, saying: “Hey @realDonaldTrump I oppose civil asset forfeiture too! Why don’t you try to destroy my career you fascist, loofa-faced, s***-gibbon!”
Still later, Leach wrote on Facebook: “S***-Gibbon” goes viral! Maybe someday it will be written on my tombstone….or his.”
Hoenstine issued a statement saying Leach was fully justified in his remarks.
“President Trump blithely talked about destroying the career of a man who disagreed with Trump about civil asset forfeiture,” Hoenstine said. “Then Trump laughed about it, which is just what you’d expect from someone who gets his kicks firing people on national television. He continues to undermine democratic norms, America’s system of checks and balances, and the general principle of human decency. Senator Leach is mad as hell about it, as you can see from his tweet.”
So far, President Trump hasn’t replied.
