Transcript: Leader Schumer Remarks At NYC Press Conference Following Sen. Padilla Being Forcefully Manhandled By Federal Agents

New York, N.Y. - Today, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) spoke on the horrific treatment of Senator Alec Padilla (D-CA):

The video that now all of America has seen and the treatment of Senator Padilla makes you sick to your stomach.

We have to find out what the hell is going on, and I've demanded of Senator Thune that the Senate launch an immediate bipartisan investigation.

What happened to Senator Padilla was despicable, disgusting, and so un-American.

Padilla was doing his job.

Donald Trump recklessly ordered the National Guard into California even though the governor said he could take care of it himself, and Donald Trump is notorious for using both law enforcement and the military to go after his political enemies.

Senator Padilla was doing his job finding out what the heck was going on over there, and when you ask questions of this administration, they don't answer.

So I salute Senator Padilla for going to the press conference and asking questions, and instead of him being treated properly, he was manhandled by federal officials in a nasty and brutal way.

Secretary Noem says they didn’t know who he was. Bull. It’s on the tape.

He said who he was, and he is well known in California.

Now a federal judge has ordered that the National Guard be removed from the control of Donald Trump and be put under the governor's orbit.

That should happen now.

What Trump did was not only un-American, not only despicable, but illegal.

What we saw on the tape tonight—sickening—is what you see in dictatorships, not in democracy.

Donald Trump, what you and the people following your orders are doing is against democracy.

And so the bottom line is very simple: we need an immediate investigation.

I’ve demanded of Senator Thune that we have a bipartisan Senate investigation right now to see what happened to one of our colleagues, one of our respected colleagues, one of our colleagues who’s very well-liked, one of our colleagues who’s well-known for doing his job and doing his job well.

This is a very bad day for America, and it shows just how disrespectful, how inimical Donald Trump is to democracy in America.