Wasserman Schultz Likens Trump to a ‘Dictator’

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By Nathan Guttman January 31, 2017

The war of words between President Donald Trump and congressional Democrats is escalating.

After Trump coined the nickname “Fake Tears Chuck” to describe Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, it was time for former DNC chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz to shoot back.

The Jewish Florida congresswoman chose to describe the president of the United States as a “dictator” during an interview with Fox Business Network.

Trump’s set of tweets, in which he derided Schumer and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, were, according to Wasserman Schultz “telling.” The reason, she explained is because “it shows that he believes that he was elected as a dictator.” Wasserman Schultz added that “there is an advise and consent role for the United States Senate, and that is what they are doing. He doesn’t just get to have his nominations rubber-stamped.”

This isn’t the first time Wasserman Schultz has remarked on dictatorial qualities in Trump’s style of governing. During the presidential campaign, she took issue with Trump’s promise that he alone can fix America’s problems.

“There’s a word for that in government and it’s not democracy,” Wasserman Schultz said, then turning to the crowd and noting that some of them are “from countries of origin where you know something about dictators who think that they can do everything alone.”

Contact Nathan Guttman at guttman@forward.com

Nathan Guttman, staff writer, was the Forward’s Washington bureau chief. He joined the staff in 2006 after serving for five years as Washington correspondent for the Israeli dailies Haaretz and The Jerusalem Post. In Israel, he was the features editor for Ha’aretz and chief editor of Channel 1 TV evening news. He was born in Canada and grew up in Israel. He is a graduate of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

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