Sinema Rips Democrats as Self-Lauding ‘Old Dudes Eating Jello’

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) has been bashing Democrats over recent months after defecting from the party in December, according to a report.

Sinema has taken aim at Democrat colleagues, including Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, as well as President Joe Biden’s former White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain, Politico’s Jonathon Martin reported. While some of her jabs have come in private, others were before mainly Republican audiences as she dances between both parties heading into a potential 2024 reelection bid.

At one such event, Sinema told a group of GOP lobbyists at a fundraiser that she was “formally aligned with the Democrats for committee purposes,” but that was the extent of her caucusing with her old party. She even dismissed the caucus’s weekly luncheons, which she stopped attending, as a buffet of narcissism.

“Old dudes are eating Jell-O, everyone is talking about how great they are,” Sinema said, according to Martin. “I don’t really need to be there for that. That’s an hour and a half twice a week that I can get back.”

At the same event, she indicated that she was no fan of Klain. Shortly after blasting the Senate for ending the judicial filibuster, she recalled a White House adviser pressing her to ensure all Democrats were present to vote to confirm Roopali DeSai to the U.S. Court of Appeals Court for the Ninth Circuit.

Sinema emphasized to the staffer she was sure it would be a bipartisan vote and DeSai would easily get appointed, which ultimately happened.

When she revealed that Klain was the adviser, she brandished her middle finger before the audience, emphasizing her apparent disdain for the former chief of staff. He has since departed the post, which Jeff Zeints has taken.

Sinema can be even more ruthless in private conversations, per the report. Republican officials with knowledge of Sinema’s comments told Politico that she had spoken about Schumer with contempt, though Martin did not list specific examples.