December 8, 2016

Robert Reich Calls Out Donald Trump for His “Thin-Skinned Vindictiveness”

The former secretary of labor urged him to end the “petty” tweets.


Speaking directly to the camera during an appearance on CNN Thursday, former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich forcefully rebuked Donald Trump for his social-media attacks against individuals who appear to have criticized him since becoming president-elect.

“Let me just say, because Donald Trump is probably watching right now,” Reich said. “With all due respect, Mr. Trump, you are president-elect of the United States. You are looking and acting as if you are mean, petty, thin-skinned, and vindictive. Stop this.”

“This is not lifting people up. This is actually penalizing people for speaking their minds.”

Reich continued to single out recent tweets, including one on Tuesday that threatened to cancel an Air Force One contract days after the CEO of Boeing expressed concern over Trump’s international trade policies. Immediately after the tweet was published, Boeing stocks plummeted. 

“What you would like is for no one—not a CEO, nobody on television, no journalist—nobody to criticize you,” Reich said. “You take offense at that. Well, you are going to be president very shortly, and you are going to have at your command not just Twitter, but also the CIA, the IRS, the FBI. If you have this kind of thin-skinned vindictiveness attitude toward anybody that criticizes you, we are in very big trouble. And sir, so are you.”

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