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'Dancing' Chuck Schumer slammed for Stephen Colbert jig amidst Afghan crisis

'Life is good for our blue elite while 1000s of Americans are stranded behind enemy lines,' said a user slamming Chuck Schumer

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is being criticized after a video of him dancing with late-night host Stephen Colbert at a New York City concert became viral. "Backstage antics," New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s press secretary Bill Neidhart wrote on Twitter on Saturday, August 21, sharing the video shot at the We Love NYC concert. 

The concert took place on the Great Lawn in Central Park and featured artists like Jon Batiste, Andrea Bocelli, Kane Brown, LL COOL J, Cynthia Erivo, Jimmy Fallon, Jennifer Hudson, Wyclef Jean, The Killers, Gayle King, Don Lemon, The New York Philharmonic, Carlos Santana, Paul Simon, Patti Smith, Bruce Springsteen, and more. However, not all artists got to perform.

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The concert was reportedly called off just past its halfway point due to lightning strikes occurring within a 10-mile radius of the Great Lawn. Artists like Bruce Springsteen, Paul Simon, Elvis Costello, Maluma, Patti Smith, and the Killers had yet to appear at the point it was shut down.

As per a report in Variety, the concert and broadcast were planned to last for five hours. It was two hours and 37 minutes into the show when Manilow, mid-verse in ‘I Can’t Smile Without You’ was interrupted by an announcer saying: “Attention. Please pay close attention to the following safety measures. Due to approaching severe weather, all persons should move quickly and calmly to the nearest exits and proceed to your vehicles and protected areas.” 

Chuck Schumer’s dance video was panned on Twitter with many wondering why the leader was at a concert when American lives remain at risk in Afghanistan following the fundamentalist group usurping power. “Life is good for our blue elite while 1000s of Americans are stranded behind enemy lines,” said one Twitter user. Another person wrote, “All while the Taliban dances in our uniforms.” One person asked, “Was this today, while we still have Americans behind enemy lines?????”

One Twitter user wrote, “This is completely embarrassing watching grown-ass men with stupid masks on their face trying to dance. While Americans are stranded in Afghanistan with the Taliban.” Another person Tweeted, “Imagine not understanding the horrible optics of dancing around like a CLOWN as abandoned Americans in Kabul fear being slaughtered by murderous terrorists. This is DISGUSTING!” One person wrote, “The only thing the Democratic Party cares about is what celebrities think about them.”

US defense secretary Lloyd Austin revealed on Friday, August 20, during a briefing that Americans are among those who have been beaten by the Taliban at airport checkpoints. Austin told the House members that Americans have been "harassed and beaten" by the Taliban while trying to escape from Afghanistan. He further said this is "unacceptable". He reportedly declined to “rule in or out” the possibility of US troops moving beyond the airport to help Americans and others get to safety.

“We’re also aware that some people, including Americans, have been harassed and even beaten by the Taliban,” Austin said on the call, according to multiple sources. “This is unacceptable and [we] made it clear to the designated Taliban leader.” Austin added that “with the exception of those cases, we continue to see Americans and appropriately credentialed Afghans continue to move through.”