Chuck Schumer says he’s not ‘scared’ walking around DC—he has a full-time security detail

In an interview with journalist Aaron Parnas, Schumer was asked if he feels “scared” walking around the city, amid Republican claims that DC has become unsafe.

“I walk around all the time,” Schumer responded. “I wake up early in the morning sometimes and take a nice walk as the sun is rising around some of the Capitol and the other monuments and things, and I feel perfectly safe. They’re full of it.”

Schumer accused President Donald Trump of using crime concerns in DC as a distraction. Trump recently ordered the federal government to take control of the DC Metropolitan Police Department in an effort to crack down on crime in the nation’s capital. His administration has also deployed the National Guard to assist with law enforcement in the city.

Schumer’s claim that he feels safe walking outside in DC prompted many critics to point out that he receives a 24/7 protective detail. Senior leaders of Congress, such as the House and Senate majority and minority leaders, party whips, and the House speaker, are provided full-time security.

The conversation comes as Democrats have sought to play down crime worries in the city, while the White House has pointed to public safety statistics as justification for federalizing the DC police force.

“We’re going to take our capital back,” Trump said earlier this week, vowing that his administration would tamp down criminality.

“You want to be able to leave your apartment or your house where you live and feel safe and go into a store to buy a newspaper or buy something, and you don't have that now,” Trump said. “The murder rate in Washington today is higher than that of Bogota, Colombia, Mexico City, some of the places that you hear about as being the worst places on earth, much higher.”

“We're not going to take it, you know, just like we did on our southern border. Nobody comes to our southern border anymore,” the president added.