Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) fired back at Vice President J.D. Vance on Wednesday after he mocked her questioning at a Senate hearing by comparing her to the fictional character Forrest Gump, a remark widely criticized as targeting her combat injuries and people with disabilities.
Duckworth Links Insult To Trump’s Draft Record
Duckworth, a retired US Army lieutenant colonel who lost both legs when her Black Hawk helicopter was shot down in Iraq, dismissed Vance’s swipe as “petty insults.” In a post on X, she wrote, “Forrest Gump ran toward danger in Vietnam. Your boss ran to his podiatrist crying bone spurs. Petty insults at the expense of people with disabilities won’t change the fact that you’re risking troops’ lives to boost Chevron Corp. (NYSE:CVX) stock price. It’s my job to hold you accountable.”
Her comment was a direct response to Vance’s earlier post, in which he wrote, “Watching Tammy Duckworth obsessively interrupt Marco Rubio during this hearing is like watching Forest Gump argue with Isaac Newton.”
Illinois Democrats Rally To Duckworth’s Defense
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) quickly came to Duckworth’s defense, replying on X, “That’s a US Senator doing her job. This is a random troll tweeting at her.” The Democratic Party of Illinois also weighed in, saying voters sent Duckworth to Washington “to ask tough questions and demand answers” and calling Vance’s attack “vile” and revealing of his “contempt.”
Hearing Clash Centers On War Powers Abroad
The clash followed a heated exchange at a Senate hearing where Duckworth pressed Secretary of State Marco Rubio on whether US actions in the Caribbean and around Venezuela are constrained by the laws of war and whether American troops could be drawn into a wider conflict. She warned, “We don’t need to be in another forever war, and that is the path that we are going towards.”
Rubio countered that President Donald Trump was asserting his authority to respond to “imminent threats,” not committing to ground troops, while the administration pushes plans to expand US involvement in Venezuela’s oil sector and protect American energy interests.
It is worth noting that Duckworth has earlier sharply criticized Trump’s wartime posture and the White House’s efforts to leverage Venezuelan oil, actions that have fueled anxiety among Democrats about mission creep.
Photo Courtesy: Joshua Sukoff via Shutterstock.com
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