Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) criticized President Donald Trump over the ongoing conflict with Iran, accusing him of prioritizing a basketball game over a military crisis after American soldiers were reportedly shot down.
Schumer Targets Trump Over Iran War
On Tuesday, in a post on X, Schumer attacked Trump’s handling of the conflict, writing, “American soldiers were shot down in Iran as Trump was wasting taxpayer dollars to fall asleep while watching the Knicks.”
“Each day this illegal war drags on further exposes this President’s recklessness,” He said.
Trump Iran Helicopter Strike
Schumer highlighted the timing of Trump’s June 9 activity on Truth Social.
He shared a screenshot that showed the president reposting “NYC loves @realDonaldTrump” several hours after an Iranian attack reportedly downed a U.S. Apache helicopter over the Strait of Hormuz.
In a later post, Trump said he had been informed by the military that “the Iranians shot down one of our highly sophisticated Apache Helicopters while patrolling over the Strait of Hormuz.”
He added that the two pilots were “safe and uninjured,” but warned that “the United States must, of necessity, respond to this attack.”
On Monday, Schumer criticized Trump for attending Game 3 of the NBA Finals, saying the visit led to heavy security and long lines for fans.
He accused Trump of making the event about himself.
Lawmakers Split Over Iran Strike
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) backed Trump’s approach, saying Iran was rebuilding its military and warning that the U.S. needed a strong response, adding that “President Trump is absolutely right” on retaliation.
Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) said he was relieved the service members survived but called the conflict an “unauthorized war” that should end to prevent further casualties.
US-Iran Strike Escalation
U.S. Central Command said on X that it launched “self-defense strikes” at 5 p.m. ET on orders from the commander in chief, calling the operation a “proportional response to unjustified Iranian aggression.”
The strikes targeted Iranian air-defense systems, radar sites, and ground-control facilities.
President Trump ordered the strikes, blamed Iran for the incident, and said the response should be “very strong.”
He later downplayed the downing, calling it “not a big deal” since both pilots survived.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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