President Donald Trump speaks to supporters during a campaign rally at Scheels Arena on June in Fargo, North Dakota. | Justin Sullivan/Getty Images Trump: Joe Crowley ‘got his ass kicked’

President Donald Trump went after Rep. Joe Crowley on Wednesday night, just one day after the 10-term Democratic lawmaker suffered a stunning upset against Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, his 28-year-old challenger, in the New York primary.

“One of my biggest critics, a slovenly man named Joe Crowley, got his ass kicked,” the president said at a rally in Fargo, North Dakota. “By a young woman who had a lot of energy. She had a lot of energy. I guess he didn’t see it. They couldn’t find him.”


Trump did not mention Ocasio-Cortez by name. A member of the Democratic Socialists of America, she has said she would support the president’s impeachment if elected in November.

Ocasio-Cortez on Thursday said she found Trump’s comments to be “unacceptable.”

“First of all, it is unacceptable to be disrespectful I think of Congressman Crowley. He has done some phenomenal, phenomenal work for the Bronx and Queens,“ she told CNN. “I am first and foremost saddened and upset at the disrespect that he displayed at my predecessor. I mean, it's bizarre to say the least.“

Trump, who was in Fargo campaigning for Rep. Kevin Cramer in his bid for the Senate, said Crowley and Democrats poured “a fortune” into the New York primary and that he believed Crowley wanted to take House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi’s place. Crowley was widely seen as a potential future speaker.

The president, however, urged Democrats to keep Pelosi in her spot, in addition to Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), whom Trump has called out after she urged his opponents over the weekend to confront Cabinet members wherever they encounter them, in protest of controversial policies.

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“I was so disappointed because I want to keep Nancy Pelosi right where she is with Maxine Waters. I want to keep Nancy Pelosi,” he said. “Please, I make a plea to my Democrat friends: Please, please, please, don’t remove Nancy Pelosi. She should be where she is. And please keep Maxine Waters on the air as your face and your mouthpiece for the Democrat Party. Please.”

