Trump To Schumer: ‘Tell Israel’ Why You Oppose Iran Deal Changes

Senator Chuck Schumer Image by Getty Images

By Nathan Guttman October 16, 2017

President Trump and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer have an on-again, off-again relationship, and now it is off-again — after Schumer criticized Trump’s new policy toward Iran.

Schumer, who in 2015 opposed the nuclear deal reached by the Obama administration, has since changed his mind and he now opposes Trump’s efforts to make changes in the deal and perhaps withdraw from it altogether.

“I had a great deal of misgivings about the Iran nuclear deal. I voted against it but now we ought to see, give it time to work,” Schumer said over the weekend.

And Trump was quick to call him out on it, tweeting Monday morning: “Dem Senator Schumer hated the Iran deal made by President Obama, but now that I am involved, he is OK with it. Tell that to Israel, Chuck!”

Schumer, who is Jewish, is considered a strong pro-Israel voice in the Senate and an ally of the pro-Israel lobby AIPAC.

Contact Nathan Guttman at [email protected] or on Twitter @nathanguttman

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.

A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

The coming year promises to be filled with more complex and historic developments. We are entering an era where independent, fact-based Jewish journalism will be more important than ever. We need to be ready for whatever 2025 will bring, and with your help, we can be.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO