Senators Hilariously Agonize Over Whether To Share Cardi B's Shutdown Video
Two Democratic senators had a public discussion on Twitter that most would have reserved for DM. And their transparency — plus a surprise comment from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) — is pretty damn funny.
On Wednesday, rapper Cardi B posted a video to social media in which she expressed her frustration with President Donald Trump and the ongoing partial government shutdown, which is now the longest in U.S. history.
“Trump is now ordering — as in summoning — federal government workers to go back to work without getting paid,” Cardi said, referring to the thousands furloughed federal employees from agencies like the IRS and the Federal Aviation Administration who were told this week they had to return to work without pay.
During the profanity-laced video, Cardi also makes a comparison between the recent shutdown and one that occurred in 2013, when Republicans forced a shutdown in order to delay the implementation of the Affordable Care Act.
“Now I don’t wanna hear y’all motherfuckers talk about, ‘Oh, but Obama shut the government down for 17 days,’” Cardi continued. “Yeah, bitch, for health care! So your grandma could check her blood pressure and you bitches could go check y’all pussy in the gynecologist with no motherfucking problem.”
Many seemed to agree with the sentiment behind the “I Like It” rapper’s video. But Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) and Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) appeared to be weighing whether to share the video themselves. It’s unclear if the senators were sincerely debating whether to retweet the video or just kidding around, but either way their exchange was pretty entertaining.
(Trying to decide whether or not to retweet the Cardi B video)
— Brian Schatz (@brianschatz) January 17, 2019
Omg, I had the same argument with myself 30 minutes ago!
— Chris Murphy (@ChrisMurphyCT) January 17, 2019
The two senators continued to chat in a public forum like there weren’t thousands of people reading and reacting to their conversation.
Ok you do it. And say retweets are not endorsements, especially the language, and I will retweet.
— Brian Schatz (@brianschatz) January 17, 2019
DHYB
— Chris Murphy (@ChrisMurphyCT) January 17, 2019
I had to google that. Fair enough. See you tomorrow Murph.
— Brian Schatz (@brianschatz) January 17, 2019
Ultimately, both decided not to retweet the video after Schatz attempted to get Murphy to post it first, prompting Murphy to respond with “DHYB,” which means “don’t hold your breath.”
Although both men seemed to have backed out of sharing the video, that didn’t mean people weren’t totally invested in their exchange — including Schumer.
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Guys, I’m still holding my breath. Are you gonna RT Cardi B or not?
— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) January 17, 2019
We decided not to do it. Wouldn’t be senatorial. https://t.co/oR6XBlGu2F
— Brian Schatz (@brianschatz) January 17, 2019
And that’s when Twitter lost it.
Time of death 9:59 pm pic.twitter.com/ukIanoJ4ri
— Shannon 💃🏻 (@TheStagmania) January 17, 2019
I went to double check because I said the myself... no way this is real. And... well, I’ll be damned if it’s legit. 😭😭
— Day 1 of Sobriety - Jan 1, 2019 (@JAYMEL79) January 17, 2019
Younger senators Schatz and Murphy have funny back and forth about Cardi B video on the shutdown.
*Chuck Schumer barges in with a skateboard and backward hat*
“How do you do, fellow kids?” https://t.co/6BlRMexWca— Erick Fernandez (@ErickFernandez) January 17, 2019
I was fine until Schumer popped in. OMG. pic.twitter.com/ybQffJPg1o
— Alexandra (@nycbubbles) January 17, 2019
And while many people got a good laugh out of the exchange, it also makes one wonder if this is part of the reason why Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) has been tapped to teach her colleagues how to use Twitter.
This article originally appeared on HuffPost.