Twitter tirade: President Donald Trump took on rising political star Kirsten Gillibrand, and she didn't take a backward step. Photo / AP
Twitter tirade: President Donald Trump took on rising political star Kirsten Gillibrand, and she didn't take a backward step. Photo / AP
When US President Donald Trump took to Twitter to insult her, Kirsten Gillibrand got exactly the fight she wanted.
And his attack on the US senator may just have exposed her as a top challenger for his job.
Trump fired up at Gillibrand earlier this week, when she called for an investigation into accusations of sexual misconduct against him.
No lightweight: Kirsten Gillibrand has no plans to be silenced. Photo / AP
Trump fired off on Twitter: "Lightweight Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, a total flunkey for Chuck Schumer and someone who would come to my office 'begging' for campaign contributions not so long ago (and would do anything for them)."
She returned fire at a news conference, branding his attack "a sexist smear attempting to silence my voice".
More than a dozen women have accused Trump of making unwanted sexual advances against them years before he entered politics. Trump has denied the allegations.
Gillibrand has no plans to be silenced. Politically, or otherwise.
Lightweight Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, a total flunky for Chuck Schumer and someone who would come to my office “begging” for campaign contributions not so long ago (and would do anything for them), is now in the ring fighting against Trump. Very disloyal to Bill & Crooked-USED!
And in the wake of the Republican President's attack, the Democratic senator's profile has only increased in Washington, where she is increasingly viewed as a top contender for president in 2020.
Political pundits say the fact that six senators called for his resignation but he chose to single out Gillibrand are a sign that far from being a lightweight, she's seen as powerful enough to pose a threat.
His attack on her also led to a blistering editorial which labelled Trump not fit to even "clean the toilets".
"With his latest tweet, clearly implying that a United States senator would trade sexual favours for campaign cash, President Trump has shown he is not fit for office," the editorial said.
"A president who would all but call Sen Kirsten Gillibrand a whore is not fit to clean the toilets in the Barack Obama Presidential Library or to shine the shoes of George W Bush," it said.
LEADING THE #METOO CHARGE
Democrats rushed to Gillibrand's defence.
"Are you really trying to bully, intimidate and slut-shame @SenGillibrand?" Senator Elizabeth Warren tweeted back at Trump. "Do you know who you're picking a fight with? Good luck with that."
Gillibrand is up for re-election next year and has been an outspoken voice in the national debate over how to confront sexual assault and harassment, leading the #metoo charge.
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. Photo / AP
She's argued that the rules in institutions from Congress to Hollywood to the US military are set to benefit the powerful and the favoured at the expense of the vulnerable.
The White House flatly rejected Gillibrand's assertion Trump's tweet was sexually suggestive.
Gillibrand — asked whether she'd misread the meaning of the tweet — said "no".
"He's a bully and he's been attacking different people across this country since he's been President and since the Women's March women have stood up, have fought hard, have spoken out about their beliefs. And they've not stopped ... because of it I have hope for this country," she told NBC.
The stoush has further put the spotlight on Gillibrand and her campaign to up-end the dynamics and put power in the hands of the victims, while simultaneously pushing the 51-year-old to the forefront of an unformed Democratic presidential field.
Along the way, Gillibrand hasn't spared icons in her own party.
Twitter tirade: President Donald Trump took on rising political star Kirsten Gillibrand, and she didn't take a backward step. Photo / AP
She was appointed to Hillary Clinton's Senate seat, but recently said Bill Clinton should have resigned the presidency for his improprieties.
Federal Election Commission records show Trump and his daughter Ivanka donated almost $8000 to Gillibrand's congressional campaigns.
Gillibrand has fought since 2013 to overhaul the way the US armed forces deal with allegations of sexual misconduct.
A bill she crafted aims to stop sexual assaults by stripping senior US military officers of their responsibilities to decide whether to prosecute sexual assault cases and giving that authority to seasoned military trial lawyers.
The Pentagon has opposed the change and the bill remains stalled.
