Senator Adam Schiff (Democrat, California) shared four choice words on Tuesday for President Donald Trump.
The outspoken Democrat has long claimed there was ample evidence of collusion between Russia and the first Trump campaign, and after the president plainly stated on Tuesday that he knows “some Russian oligarchs that are very nice people,” the senator pounced.
Schiff reshared footage of the moment on X, formerly Twitter, and wrote: “I’m sure you do.”
Schiff served as lead prosecutor in Trump’s first impeachment trial in 2020 and remains one of the top Democratic voices to suggest his 2016 election win was aided by the Kremlin. Trump, fond of nicknames, dubbed him “Sleazy Adam Schiff” in 2017.
While he understandably reacted to Trump’s comment about “nice” Russian oligarchs, swaths of social media users were most alarmed about the rest of the president’s statement — which concerned a plan to sell a pathway to US citizenship.
Trump told reporters on Tuesday that his administration will be “selling a gold card” for $5 million that will give holders “green card privileges plus” and said “wealthy people will be coming into our country by buying this.”
“A lot of people are going to want to be in this country,” Trump told reporters Tuesday. “And they’ll be able to work and provide jobs and build companies and pay taxes — all of those things. It’s an incredible thing. I mean, this is the group that is the first to hear it.”
While MAGA supporters are already welcoming this as evidence of Trump’s ethos as a strongman, others see it as an obscene perversion of the American dream — as struggling immigrants will be left behind while only wealthy oligarchs are allowed to become citizens.
“Add this to the large list of reasons why Trump is the most un-American president in history,” wrote one user on X, with another commenting: “Has he said anything about where the money would go and how it would be accounted for?”
The latter continued, “Far be it from us to assume that it would go straight into his pocket!”
When asked about his gold card on Tuesday, Trump claimed buyers will be able to work, build companies and pay taxes. He also claimed applicants would be vetted “very carefully,” after suggesting this will be done via executive orders — and stating, “We don’t need Congress.”
