The 2020 Democratic presidential primary is underway — and it’s already getting nasty.
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., on Sunday launched an attack of President Donald Trump and his policies… while speaking at one of Trump’s Manhattan properties.
She called Trump a “coward” who “punches down” and says that he is “tearing apart the moral fabric of our country.”
“He demonizes the vulnerable and he punches down. He puts his name in bold on every building,” Gillibrand said. “He does all of this because he wants you to believe he is strong. He is not. Our president is a coward.”
Though Gillibrand first said that she was exploring a presidential bid in January, the New York speech was her first since formalizing her efforts last week. It seemed an attempt by her campaign to position Gillibrand in the crowded field of Democrats seeking the party’s nomination, a field in which she has been looking to define her path.
Attorney General William Barr released a summary of principal conclusions on Sunday, hours after Gillibrand’s Manhattan speech. She is among the Democrats calling for the full details.
While the president and his campaign have not responded to Gillibrand’s speech, a handful of Trump supporters were on hand Sunday, carrying Trump 2020 banners and at times piercing through the speech of Gillibrand and others with chants.
In the crowd, a woman sold pink, knit hats with cat ears, recalling the Women’s March.
Of course, no Democratic rally would be complete without a liberal Hollywood celebrity appearance.
Gillibrand was introduced by the actor Connie Britton, who lived with Gillibrand when the two studied abroad in Beijing.
“She cannot be knocked down, guys. Not in front of Trump plaza, or anywhere else,” Britton said of Gillibrand.
The Associated Press contributed to this article