Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer Appears to Break Wind During Speech

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer appeared to break wind on the floor of the chamber last week.

The 75-year-old was criticizing President Donald Trump and the war in Iran when an audible sound cut through his remarks, broadcast live on C-SPAN Tuesday, July 7. “Now on Iran and the NDAA,” Schumer said, just before the noise, in a clip the New York Post shared Wednesday, July 15.

After the audible sound, Schumer appeared to suppress a light chuckle before continuing with his remarks. He continued: “When all the Trump administration can say about his disastrous war with Iran is that Vietnam was worse. A point Trump made yesterday, he reveals the scale of his failure. This is what Donald Trump said. The only thing he can say is Vietnam was worse. Oh my God! A war that killed close to 50,000 Americans, a war that lasted almost a decade, a war that ripped America apart.”

Schumer has not directly addressed the moment, and his office did not immediately respond to the outlet’s request for comment.

According to a report the New York Post published the same day, the clip spread quickly online, and conservative commentator Mark Kaye suggested the moment made a case for congressional term limits in a message he posted to X on Tuesday, July 14.

Schumer isn’t the first politician to fart in front of an audience. Former California Rep. Eric Swalwell unleashed a similarly unmistakable sound live on MSNBC’s Hardball with Chris Matthews in 2019, according to the report. “Chris, so far the evidence is uncontradicted that the president used taxpayer dollars to help him cheat —” Swalwell said, pausing as the sound rang out, “— an election.”

The 45-year-old later denied responsibility, texting BuzzFeed News, “It was not me!!!!!” Per the report, the MSNBC show later clarified that the sound was a mug scraping across a studio desk.