Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s introduction for a Sunday press conference is gaining attention for all the wrong reasons.
The clip shows Schumer briefly celebrating a Buffalo Bills football victory before addressing two deadly shootings, one in the United States and one in Australia.
At the start of the press conference, Schumer told reporters he planned to first discuss concerns about grocery delivery pricing and then speak about recent acts of violence.
Highlights
- Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer faced backlash for mentioning a Buffalo Bills win before addressing the deadly shootings.
- Schumer initially discussed grocery delivery price discrimination, accusing companies like Instacart of unfair AI-driven pricing.
- He condemned antisemitism after a deadly attack at a Hanukkah event in Sydney, mourning victim Eli Schlanger.
Chuck Schumer received criticism for addressing football before the deadly shootings
Image credits: Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images
“First I'm going to, of course, talk about Instacart and their ripping off the consumer, and then of course I'm going to say a few words about the terrible shooting in Sydney, Australia. Okay?”
“So, and first of course as I always say no matter what, go Bills, they beat the Patriots today its a big deal,” he said, referring to the Buffalo Bills’ 35–31 win over the New England Patriots earlier that day.
“These sickening events have become far too normal in our world. We must do more to stop gun violence,” Schumer later said of the shootings.
The timing of the statement quickly became the focus of backlash on social media.
On Saturday, a mass shooting at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, killed two students and injured nine others. Police are still searching for the shooter.
On Sunday, a separate attack took place at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, during a Hanukkah event. Sixteen people, including one of the gunmen, were killed, and at least 27 remain hospitalized.
Authorities say the attack, carried out by a father and son, targeted Jewish attendees.
During the press conference, Schumer spent about seven minutes discussing alleged artificial intelligence-driven price discrimination by grocery delivery companies.
He accused companies such as Instacart of charging different prices based on household spending patterns and called on the Federal Trade Commission to investigate.
Schumer then turned to the shootings, which he spoke about for four minutes.
Image credits: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
“As we light the menorah on this first night of Hanukkah the global Jewish community is in shock and in mourning,” he said.
He added that one of the victims, 41-year-old Eli Schlanger, “was a pillar of the Crown Heights [in Brooklyn, New York] community, not too far away from where I live.”
Schumer continued, “Antisemitism is a scourge around the world. It's everywhere and it's got to be condemned loudly and vigorously at every turn. The Jewish people have been collectively demonized and this tragedy in Sydney shows the abject danger of letting antisemitic propaganda, rhetoric and action go unchecked.”
“On the heels of a tragic shooting at Brown University, our hearts are really heavy this morning. These sickening events have become far too normal in our world. We must do more to stop gun violence.”