You’ve got to give him props!
Protesters continue to besiege the streets outside Sen. Chuck Schumer’s posh Park Slope pad almost nightly, as they jeer the senate minority leader for approving President Trump’s cabinet nominees and urge him to reject those still under consideration — and now the rabble-rousers are bringing pun-y accessories to keep things fresh.
On Saturday, they waved replica backbones and chanted, “get a spine, Chuck!” On Tuesday, they brought barbells and boxing gloves to encourage him to be tough — and the malcontents say they’ll keep coming back to make sure their message is heard.
“Officials need to hear from their constituents that if they’re not up for the job we’ll kick them out of office,” said Hae-lin Choi, a member of Resist Trump New York, which organized Tuesday’s rally titled “What the f—-, Chuck?!”
Even Schumer’s neighbors have been getting in on the action, the activists say.
“His apartment is right there at the heart of Park Slope — it’s Slope-ier than the Slope — and a lot of people join in as they go by,” said spine-waving protestor Tim Murphy.
The rallies outside Schumer’s Prospect Park West apartment began even before Trump’s inauguration, but activists have grown increasingly agitated while the most powerful Democrat in Congress has approved several of Trump’s picks, including retired Marine Corp. General James Mattis as secretary of defense, and former Defense Intelligence Agency honcho Michael Flynn as national security adviser.
Schumer recently announced that he will oppose 15 upcoming nominees, including billionaire private-school advocate Betsy DeVos for education secretary, former Exxon Mobile chief Rex Tillerson for secretary of state, and Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions for attorney general, leaving the activists to believe their efforts haven’t gone unnoticed, according to Choi.
“We’re very excited by the announcement he made saying he’ll vote no, so we think our message is getting to him,” Choi said.
Schumer claims he is not fazed by the regular visitors and even commented on the “What the f—, Chuck?!” Facebook page last week, praising the demonstrators who antagonized him on Tuesday.
“Appreciate hearing from everyone on this and on so many of the issues we will face in the weeks, months, and years ahead,” Schumer wrote in a post that received 1,435 likes, 213 love hearts, and 62 frowny faces.
The protests haven’t been confined to the pol’s residence — Schumer spoke at a massive Manhattan rally opposing Trump’s immigration ban on Sunday, but was met with a rousing chant of “reject the nominees!”
Meanwhile, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, who has rejected all but one nominee — former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley for United Nations ambassador — received one of the loudest cheers of the day.
