Senator Ossoff Calls Trump a 'Draft-Dodging, Crook President'

Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff called President Donald Trump a "draft-dodging, crook president" during a campaign appearance in Georgia on Tuesday. Speaking alongside Senator Mark Kelly and his wife, former Arizona congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, Ossoff defended Kelly as a hero.

Ossoff said Trump had recklessly plunged the nation into a war he does not know how to end or win, and had tried to imprison Kelly, whom he described as embodying American heroism. Kelly, a former navy captain, along with five other Democratic lawmakers, was attacked by Trump last year after they released a social media video stating that troops are not required to carry out illegal commands. Trump responded by calling for the lawmakers' arrests, accusing them of "seditious behavior, punishable by death."

Ossoff, who is currently running for re-election to his Senate seat in Georgia and is widely rumored to be considering a 2028 presidential run, has gained significant social media attention for his pointed criticism of Trump. On Sunday, during a campaign appearance in Atlanta, Ossoff similarly attacked Trump's handling of the US-Israel war against Iran, saying that while sailors aboard the USS Lincoln fight the war, the president sleeps through meetings, golfs and trades stocks. Ossoff also referenced Trump's aide Natalie Harp and their travels aboard a plane gifted by the Qatari emir.

The White House quickly pushed back on Monday, with Trump calling Ossoff "Pee-wee Herman" and White House communications director Steven Cheung describing him as a "radical, extremist Democrat."