Trump takes pot shot at retiring NYC Rep. Jerry Nadler as speculation bubbles on successor

Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News on Sep 5, 2025

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NEW YORK — President Donald Trump on Friday woke up early and took a pot shot at Rep. Jerrold Nadler after the liberal lawmaker announced his plans to retire from his deep-blue Manhattan seat.

The president lashed out at Nadler in a 6:15 a.m. post aimed at his longtime Democratic nemesis who recently disclosed he will not run for reelection in the 2026 midterms.

“I’ve been beating this bum for 40 years, first as a New York City developer, where he opposed me, for no reason, at every corner ... and then, as your President,” Trump wrote on his social media site.

“It will be a great day for the U.S.A. when Nadler, a pathetic lightweight, is out of office.”

Trump accused Nadler and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of engineering the two impeachments of him in his first term, which failed when the Senate fell short of the two-thirds vote needed to remove him from office.

Nadler didn’t immediately respond.

Nadler, 79, says he want to step down in good time to clear a path for a leader from a younger generation. He cited the controversy over former President Joe Biden’s initial decision to run for reelection, then abruptly pull the plug on that effort amid widespread concerns about his age and fitness for office.

Nadler’s departure after more than three decades in office sets up a potential Democratic primary dogfight for his district, which now includes both the east and west sides of Manhattan.

Assemblyman Micah Lasher, 43, a former aide of Nadler, is widely seen as a potential successor along with several other local lawmakers in the gilded district that is home to countless prominent political and cultural figures.

Chelsea Clinton quickly shot down rumors she could run for the seat while Kennedy scion Jack Schlossberg has said he would consider the race, although Nadler downplayed his chances.

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