President Donald Trump’s son Eric has echoed his dad’s recent attack on Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.).
“I remember Kirsten Gillibrand when she came into his office every three days to ask him for money and ask for major campaign contributions,” Eric said in a Wednesday interview on WABC Radio with Rita Cosby. “There is no one who wanted to get into his office more than Kirsten Gillibrand.”
On Tuesday, the president tweeted that Gillibrand is a “lightweight” and “total flunky” for Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.). Trump added that Gillibrand would “come to my office ‘begging’ for campaign contributions not so long ago,” and “would do anything for them.”
Many people criticized Trump for the tweet, calling it sexist and sexually suggestive. A scathing USA Today editorial said the tweet showed that Trump “is not fit for office.”
Gillibrand, who has called for the president to resign in light of multiple allegations of sexual misconduct against him, termed his attack a “sexist smear” and tweeted defiantly that Trump “cannot silence me.”
Eric Trump told Cosby that Gillibrand is nothing but a “distraction.”
“It’s amazing how convenient it is that he’s doing incredibly well [as president] ... a minute away from finalizing, maybe the most historic tax cut to our nation and here she is,” he said. “She follows the whole Schumer playbook. Again, it’s a shame, but it’s a distraction. I think we’ve gotten pretty good at tuning out distractions, at least I have.”
He also deemed the recent revival of sexual misconduct allegations against his father the “distraction of the week,” adding that the accusations are “totally unfounded” and “baseless.”
“It’s total nonsense,” Eric said, referring to the 21 sexual misconduct allegations that range from harassment to assault and rape. “That’s been the playbook in our government for so long: distract, disrupt, hurt, bash, defame, do whatever you can for your own political gain. It’s sad that we don’t have more morals or character or whatever it is.”
Trump and his aides have denied the sexual misconduct allegations, calling them “false accusations” and “fake news.” White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders suggested in October that all of Trump’s accusers were lying.
A recent poll conducted by Politico and Morning Consult found that half of registered voters believe the allegations against Trump are credible.
On Monday, four of Trump’s accusers held a press conference urging Congress to open an investigation into his alleged inappropriate behavior. Also on Monday, a group of Democratic congresswomen released a letter calling for such a probe. The letter has now been signed by 100 Democratic lawmakers.