Giving credit where credit is due, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer invoked the name of former President Donald Trump in remarks on the Senate floor as part of the debate over the For The People voting rights Act.
The New York Democratic Senator pointed out Trump's constant lying about his loss in the 2020 election was impetus for the Republican frenzy to enact voter suppression laws in response to a nonexistent problem.
You can see an excerpt of Schumer's remarks here:
As well as pointing out the complete lack of any proof of election fraud in President Joe Biden's resounding defeat of Trump—where Biden won the popular vote by almost 8 million and the electoral college vote by 74—Schumer took Trump to task over his lies.
The New York Democrat said:
"He lied over and over and over again ... poisoning our democracy, lighting a fire between Republican state legislatures who immediately launched the most sweeping voter suppression effort in at least 80 years."
"Just a note, how despicable a man is Donald Trump?"
Schumer illustrated his point by an examination of the Pennsylvania legislature.
Prior to the 2020 election, Republicans in the Pennsylvania legislature enacted measures to expand voting access. But after Trump's loss, many of the same GOP lawmakers did an about face, citing Trump's lies about voting fraud, to push for voting restrictions.
Schumer added:
"[Trump] lost an election legitimately."
"He can't face that, that it was his failure and he creates a lie, a big lie."
Schumer stated the GOP was also culpable.
"Donald Trump, fresh off a resounding loss in the 2020 presidential election, cried foul and lied, lied that the election was stolen from him like a petulant child."
"...there is a rot, a rot at the center of the modern Republican Party. Donald Trump's big lie has spread like a cancer and threatens to envelop one of America's major political parties."
"Even worse, it has poisoned our democracy, eroded faith in our elections, which is so detrimental to the future faith people need to have in this democracy."
"And, of course, it became the match that lit a wildfire of Republican voter suppression laws sweeping across the country."
"Because of one man's lie, Republicans are now doing the dastardly act of taking away voting from millions of Americans, millions of Americans, making it much harder for them to vote and many, many, many will not."
Schumer—in his role as Senate Majority Leader—pushed for a June vote on the Democrat supported legislation to protect every citizens right to vote.
You can see Schumer's full Senate floor speech here:
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