After Schumer Praised Retiring Rep. King, Some Democrats Jeered

Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York responded to the announcement Monday that Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., was retiring by publishing a warm tribute to King on Twitter.

Such an across-the-aisle embrace has long been par for the course on occasions of retirement, death or other political farewells.

But in a hyperpartisan era in which ideology often trumps old-fashioned bonhomie, Schumer was rebuked by members of his own party for saying King “stood head & shoulders above everyone else” and “fiercely loved America, Long Island, and his Irish heritage and left a lasting mark on all 3.”

“I will miss him in Congress & value his friendship,” the senator concluded.

Many Twitter followers of Schumer, the highest-ranking Democrat in the Senate, did not agree with the sentiments.

“Good grief,” read one of the more polite responses. “Have you lost your mind?”

Indeed, the tweet prompted more than 10,000 replies, mostly negative and some downright nasty. Videos of thumbs-downs, eye-rolling and heads shaking “no,” flooded into Schumer’s feed, as the word “resign” got tossed about.

Many of those outraged by Schumer’s praise pointed out King’s more controversial positions and statements, including when he said that there are “too many mosques” in America; that protesting NFL players are similar to Nazis; and that Eric Garner’s death was the result of his obesity and asthma, rather than the chokehold applied by a New York Police Department officer.

Add in King’s frequent support for President Donald Trump and his policies, and Schumer’s comments seemed even more galling — and divisive — to some on the left.

Another of King’s congressional colleagues, Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota — a Muslim American who has been the subject of Twitter fury — had a blunter take on his retirement announcement, noting his inflammatory statements about Islam and Garner.

“Good riddance,” she said.

Regardless of the criticism, Schumer did not delete the tweet despite some calls to do so.

“SERIOUSLY SCHUMER??,” Peter Daou, a former adviser to Hillary Clinton, wrote about the tweet. He chastised Schumer for “fawning” over King and other Democratic leaders for “enabling” Republicans. “We need a new Democratic Party.”

The reaction to Schumer’s tweet was not completely unexpected, though some said it was overblown.

Brian Fallon, executive director of activist group Demand Justice and a former top aide to Schumer, noted that King had a deep local and middle-class appeal — he will have served more than a quarter-century when he retires — and that the senator had become “fond of him.”

“The two of them worked shoulder to shoulder in the years after 9/11 fighting to get Homeland Security funding for New York,” Fallon said. “Pete King would criticize his own party when Bush’s budgets would shortchange the grant amounts allotted for New York, and Schumer respected that about him.”

Angelo Roefaro, a spokesman for Schumer, said the senator and the representative “had many disagreements on many issues, especially on immigration, his attitude toward Muslims and women’s rights,” which manifested itself in efforts by the senator and other Democrats to defeat King last fall.

But, he added, “they’ve worked closely together on issues vital to New York, like delivering much-needed federal aid locally post 9/11, Superstorm Sandy and backing universal background checks legislation,” for guns.

This article originally appeared in

.