Schatz: Trump Is Trying To Jail His Political Opponents, Actually Going Through With Authoritarian Actions

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) spoke on the Senate floor today about President Trump’s calls for the arrests of Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, which came as National Guard troops prepare to deploy to Chicago at the president’s direction and over the objections of local leaders.

“Trump is going through with these authoritarian actions. The last time he posted that one of his political enemies should be jailed, it was James Comey. And then James Comey was indicted this morning,” said Senator Schatz. “This morning, Donald Trump is in one of his moods, and he says Governor Pritzker should go to jail. Are we to assume he's kidding this time? I'm asking my Republican colleagues who swore an oath to the Constitution and love this country, just like I do, to say, publicly or privately: ‘Enough is enough.’”

A transcript of Senator Schatz’s remarks is below. Video is available here.

We all swore an oath to the Constitution. And I am honestly scared.

I used to do this sort of shtick on Twitter, where I would say, ‘The thing about what Donald Trump said on Twitter is that he's…’ And then I would just say, ‘He's trying to take your health care away.’ And my point was, that's a distraction from the main issue, which was that he was going to try to take your health care away.

That's not true anymore. He's going through with these authoritarian actions. The last time he posted that one of his political enemies should be jailed, it was James Comey. And then James Comey was indicted this morning. He pled not guilty. His trial is in January.

And so this morning, Donald Trump, with the assistance of the Texas governor, who is endlessly servile to him, is mobilizing – over the objection of the Illinois governor – two- or three hundred troops to go into Chicago to do it. Nobody knows really what other than to terrorize people. They're belaying off a helicopter into an apartment building in urban Chicago. Give me a break.

And lest you think this is theater. This morning, Donald Trump is in one of his moods, and he says Governor Pritzker should go to jail. Are we to assume he's kidding this time? Are you sure he's kidding this time?

‘Oh, he's just trolling.’ Last time, three weeks ago, he clearly wasn't trolling. The attorney general went through with what he asked.

And so I'm asking my Republican colleagues who swore an oath to the Constitution and love this country, just like I do, to say publicly or privately – I don't care – ‘Enough is enough.’

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