Chuck Schumer Under Fire for 'Go Bills!' Celebration Before Addressing Deadly Shootings: 'Disgraceful'

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer drew sharp rebuke from lawmakers and commentators after opening a press conference on recent mass shootings with a celebratory shoutout to the Buffalo Bills — a moment critics called “unbelievable” and “disgraceful.”

On Sunday, the Senate Minority Leader addressed reporters in New York on a range of issues, including deadly shootings at Brown University and at a Hanukkah celebration on Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia — the latter of which authorities have labeled a terror attack targeting Jews.

However, before addressing those topics, Schumer was seen smiling as he remarked: “First, of course, as I always say, no matter what — ‘Go Bills!’ They beat the Patriots today. It’s a big deal.”

The remarks came moments before Schumer transitioned into somber comments about the shootings, prompting intense backlash from public figures who viewed the tone shift as wildly inappropriate given the gravity of the events.

“Retire. Immediately,” insisted Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY).

“This is unbelievable,” insisted Florida Republican Congressman Randy Fine, one of the most outspoken Republicans in the country. “You claim to be the most senior elected Jew in history but want to talk about Football?”

“When my friend sent this [to] me, I told him it couldn’t be real,” he added. “Disgraceful.”

“Just a complete lizard person,” wrote conservative radio host Jesse Kelly. “Stopped being human a long time ago.”

“TONE DEAF AF,” conservative podcaster Alec Lace wrote. “Chuck Schumer says he’ll comment on the shooting at Brown University and the terrorist attack in Australia… But first… GO BILLS!”

“What a mentally deranged human,” wrote multiplatinum singer-songwriter John Ondrasik.

The Democratic Party chief’s decision to open with football banter and then address pricing practices by Instacart, follows what Australian authorities have identified as the deadliest terror incident in the country’s history in recent decades, as well as the fatal campus shooting at Brown University in Rhode Island, compounding a weekend of violence that many expected to be met with solemnity from their elected officials.