President Donald Trump ignored the release of devastating unemployment figures on Thursday, instead launching an attack on Senator Chuck Schumer for 'complaining' about shortages of medical supplies. The Labor Department reported 6.6 million new unemployment claims for the previous week, but Trump focused his ire on the Democratic minority leader.
In a series of tweets, Trump accused unnamed states of having 'insatiable appetites' and being 'never satisfied,' hinting heavily at New York. He wrote: 'Some have insatiable appetites & are never satisfied (politics?). Remember, we are a backup for them. The complainers should have been stocked up and ready long before this crisis hit.'
Trump specifically targeted Schumer, who had called for a military commander to oversee the distribution of medical supplies under the Defense Production Act. 'Somebody please explain to Cryin' Chuck Schumer that we do have a military man in charge of distributing goods, a very talented, Admiral, in fact,' Trump tweeted. He added that New York 'has gotten far more than any other State' but 'unfortunately got off to a late start.'
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, when asked about the contradiction between Trump's attack on Schumer and his praise for Cuomo, responded with apparent sarcasm: 'I think him for his good words that he thinks I am doing a good job.' Schumer maintained that Trump's appointees 'are not up to the job' of managing the crisis.
