If there's one thing we know Sen. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is very good at, it's telling a whopper (and having it trotted out as factual by the Democrat-compliant MSM). This is something we saw, for instance, after his infamous threat to conservative Supreme Court Justices in March 2020, which he later laughably claimed was actually a warning to Senate Republicans of the consequences they might face at the ballot box.
We also saw it in the aftermath of the terrifying Delta jet crash that happened at Toronto's Pearson Airport in mid-February.
Though everyone on the plane miraculously survived, Schumer's nearly-non-existent credibility took another big hit when he proclaimed in a Senate floor speech that "The White House accused us of linking the crash of the Minneapolis flight directly with FAA cuts in staffing. Nothing could be further from the truth."
Except it absolutely was true, as a tweet from Schumer a couple of days before made clear. "The flight took off from Minneapolis," he wrote. "The FAA was still responsible for inspecting the aviation equipment, and Trump just let go of FAA safety specialists."
Not surprisingly, Schumer's at it again ahead of the Schumer Shutdown, trying to blame President Donald Trump for a New York newspaper having to close its doors for good. He wrote this on the Twitter/X machine earlier in the day Thursday:
Today, the Cortland Standard, one of America’s oldest family-owned newspapers, announced it would cease publication, citing increased costs from chaos caused by Trump’s tariffs.
They were a storied newspaper, with a dedicated group of journalists, who proudly informed Cortland County residents for over 150 years.
I will deeply miss reading their paper every day and seeing their reporters every time I visit.
This is why we are fighting against these reckless tariffs that are hurting the American people.
Discerning readers will note, however, that there is no mention of "Trump's tariffs" anywhere in the goodbye letter that the paper's publisher, Evan C. Geibel, wrote to the Cortland Standard's readers. In fact, Geibel referenced some of the setbacks the 158-year-old paper had faced in recent years, including action taken in August 2024 that he hoped would save them money but which, in the end, didn't work:
The presses have been silent since August, when we shifted our printing to a facility in Oswego. At the time, I had hoped that cost-saving measure would give us some wiggle room. Unfortunately, despite the hard work and dedication of my talented colleagues, we cannot go any further.
We still had some opportunities in front of us. Many newspapers have found success hosting community events, and that was my plan, too. The editors and journalists just figured out a process to produce more video for our website. The advertising account executives were making sales. The customer service reps were smiling. It’s spring, the sun is shining...
Even now, I desperately want this to work. But I know it can’t. Our print readership continues to decline, and our digital subscriptions have grown too slowly to make up the difference. Advertisers increasingly want to focus their marketing efforts online, at much lower prices. The cost of essential software goes up every year. The cost of fuel is up. The cost of newsprint is up. I can’t afford to pay my people what they’re worth. I can’t afford to publish this newspaper any more.
There was also this bit of background on the situation from Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council President Karen Kerrigan:
As an alumni of SUNY Cortland and small biz advocate, it's always sad to see a long-time family-owned business close its doors. But as the owner notes, long standing trends in declining readership and high costs were taking their toll. As the publisher points out, two newspapers in the U.S. shut down each week. The Cortland Standard threw in the towel when the tariffs hit. I visit Cortland often as a board member of "C-State" and for alumni events, and sadly the advertising base is not that great either. Of course, news models have vastly shifted. Still, NY has to become more business friendly. Many other states are modernizing and reducing regulations, cutting taxes and working feverishly to boost their startup and small business ecosystems. NY is doing the opposite. There's a reason why businesses and people are fleeing NY.. Hopefully, the Cortland Standard name will remain on the downtown building as a gesture of immense appreciation for their reporting on nearly 150 years of news events big and small. God Speed, indeed.
In other words, in addition to the same issues that have been plaguing other newspapers over the last decade or so, another big problem was the increased costs of having to do business in Schumer's overregulated and heavily-taxed home state of New York.
He's not called "Lyin' Schumer" for nothing, y'all.
Help us to continue reporting on and exposing Democrat "leaders" and their mainstream media allies as they keep pushing bogus narratives about President Trump, Vice President Vance, and the rest of the Trump administration. Join RedState VIP and use promo code FIGHT to get 60% off your membership.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member