Democratic members have been actively spreading unfounded claims from the start of the Administration that tragedies were caused by reductions in staff or programs. That included blaming the Administration for a crash that occurred less than 24 hours after the new FAA commissioner took office as well as a crash in Canada due to bad weather. It simply does not matter if the claims are factually absurd. Democrats are rarely accused of disinformation and rely on a generally enabling legacy media.
The same pattern emerged after the blackout at Newark in a system that was flagged as antiquated during the Biden Administration and should have been replaced years ago. Despite only being in office for just over 100 days, the Democrats blamed the Trump Administration for the system failure.
Schumer pushed some of those earlier false claims. However, his gambit with the Brooklyn Bridge would embarrass the most hardened Brooklyn Bridge-selling grifter.
Unwilling to let any tragedy go to waste, the Democratic minority leader issued a press release declaring
“We know there has been meddling by the Trump administration into USCG staffing, and we need to know how this might have impacted the events of last night — from a command, communication and local coordination level. There are indications that this service [Vehicle Traffic System] may not be fully or adequately functional in light of a hiring freeze. If this were the case, the Brooklyn Bridge accident would be a national harbinger, demanding immediate attention.”
However, there is no such connection or allegation in the accident that killed two sailors and injured 17 others.
The Coast Guard was obviously not amused. It issued its own press release Sunday that said that it immediately responded to the scene of the deadly collision:
“Sector New York immediately launched a crew from Coast Guard Station New York to the scene and established a safety zone from the Brooklyn Bridge to the Manhattan Bridge. New York Vessel Traffic Services suspended commercial traffic in the area.”
President Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency eliminated its Logistics Information Management System, which managed configuration, maintenance, supply chain and technical data. It was viewed as ineffective and the cut saved over $32 million. It had nothing to do with the accident.
The hair-trigger attacks after these tragedies only deepen the public’s distrust. Polling shows that the public’s confidence in Democrats in Congress is at a record low of 25%.
On the day of Schumer’s comment, a new poll from the Associated Press (AP) and NORC at the University of Chicago found that only 35 percent of Democrats are optimistic about the party’s future.
That makes sense when your Senate minority leader is trying to sell the public a bridge story that treats them like moronic marks who will buy anything.