--- title: Trump's Tweets About Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand Are Helping Her description: President Trump's sexually suggestive tweet attack on Democratic New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand had other senators rushing to her defense. canonical: https://time.com/5060794/donald-trump-kirsten-gillibran-tweets/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-12-12T17:44:37.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T18:32:35.014Z article:section: Politics og:title: President Trump's Attack on Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand May Have Backfired og:description: His latest tweets got other senators to back up the Democrat from New York og:url: https://time.com/5060794/donald-trump-kirsten-gillibran-tweets/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt38e5f9a791c80197/6988e6d622fb8556fee23c92/gettyimages-8745784181.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Sexual Harassment Presser og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: President Trump's Attack on Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand May Have Backfired twitter:description: His latest tweets got other senators to back up the Democrat from New York twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt38e5f9a791c80197/6988e6d622fb8556fee23c92/gettyimages-8745784181.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # President Trump Criticized Kirsten Gillibrand. It Ended Up Helping Her by [Ryan Teague Beckwith](/author/ryan-teague-beckwith/) ## Ryan Teague Beckwith Dec 12, 2017 5:44 PM CUT  UNITED STATES - NOVEMBER 15: Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., right, and Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Calif., hold a news conference in the Capitol Visitor Center to introduce legislation that aims to address and prevent sexual harassment for Capitol Hill staff on November 15, 2017\. (Photo By Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call) UNITED STATES - NOVEMBER 15: Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., right, and Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Calif., hold a news conference in the Capitol Visitor Center to introduce legislation that aims to address and prevent sexual harassment for Capitol Hill staff on November 15, 2017\. (Photo By Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)Tom Williams—CQ-Roll Call,Inc. by [Ryan Teague Beckwith](/author/ryan-teague-beckwith/) ## Ryan Teague Beckwith Dec 12, 2017 5:44 PM CUT President Trump inadvertently boosted Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand in a feud over allegations of sexual misconduct. After the New York Democrat became one of a handful of Democratic senators calling on Trump to resign over the allegations, Trump attacked her as a “lightweight” and a “total flunky” for Democratic leader Sen. Chuck Schumer and claimed that she used to “beg” him for campaign contributions. > [](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/940567812053053441) But Gillibrand shot back, and according to Twitter statistics seems to have gotten the better of the exchange, with three times as many likes and [her most retweeted tweet ever](https://twitter.com/ZekeJMiller/status/940620163250114560 "undefined"). > [](https://twitter.com/SenGillibrand/status/940580340560809984) According to the Center for Responsive Politics, Trump has [donated $5,850 to Gillibrand’s campaigns](https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2011/02/donald-trumps-donations-to-democrats/ "undefined") in the past. The Twitter feud came a day after Gillibrand told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour that she thought Trump should resign, a sentiment that she then shared on Twitter. She joined fellow Democrats [New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker and Oregon Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley](http://time.com/5059417/donald-trump-democrats-resign/ "undefined") in calling for his resignation, although it was notable that Trump attacked the only woman in the group. The Trump tweet also led to other Democratic lawmakers taking on the president, with Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren calling Trump’s remark that Gillibrand “would do anything for” donations “slut-shaming” and Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal calling it a “sexist slur.” > [](https://twitter.com/SenWarren/status/940615748988342273) > [](https://twitter.com/SenJeffMerkley/status/940600292797767680) > [](https://twitter.com/SenBlumenthal/status/940592567170863104) > [](https://twitter.com/SenCortezMasto/status/940631454706536449) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5060794/donald-trump-kirsten-gillibran-tweets/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5060794/donald-trump-kirsten-gillibran-tweets/"},"headline":"President Trump Criticized Kirsten Gillibrand. It Ended Up Helping Her","datePublished":"2017-12-12T17:44:37.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T18:32:35.014Z","description":"President Trump's sexually suggestive tweet attack on Democratic New York Sen. 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