Fiddling While Rome Burns? Pelosi, Schumer Slammed for Partying Amid Chaotic Afghanistan Evacuation

The footage went public one week after Afghanistan's government quickly fell to the Taliban* as the US military presence in the nation was reduced during the pullout. President Biden, who has found himself in hot water for his handling of the situation, has defended the withdrawal, but the amount of criticism keeps growing.

Two of the most prominent Democrats in the US, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, have been slammed on Twitter for seemingly being idle over the weekend, as the US is experiencing issues evacuating its citizens from Afghanistan.

According to the video circulating online, Schumer was seen dancing backstage with late-night comic Stephen Colbert during the "We Love NYC: The Homecoming Concert" in Central Park on Saturday night, which was curtailed quite soon due to bad weather.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio's spokesman Bill Neidhardt posted a video of the dance, which has received over three million views, according to Fox News.

And while some celebrated Colbert's pretty hip dance moves and the general atmosphere of the event, others, such as Representative Lee Zeldin of New York, noted that politicians had much more important things to do than idle fun.

Maybe once @SenSchumer is done dancing with @StephenAtHome, he can call @POTUS & get him to sign the Pre-Landfall Emergency Declaration for our state. The current forecast is predicting a direct hit to Long Island by Hurricane Henri in hours. Stop clowning around & do something! https://t.co/Ze61jGI9qb

— Lee Zeldin (@RepLeeZeldin) August 21, 2021

I don’t understand how the entire American government is not working 24/7 to save those Americans out of #Afghanistan. What am I missing?

— bsharif (@beasharif) August 21, 2021

If Chuck Schumer wants to spend a joyous night rocking out in Central Park while Kabul is a mess and Biden is up to his neck in hot water, then he should get a job besides Majority Leader. https://t.co/5IKTaFRQzu

— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) August 22, 2021

Some commentators, such as House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy, chastised Pelosi for the lack of diversity at the DCCC fundraiser, as well as the fact that donors did not wear masks while sitting close together.

Speaker Pelosi wants to lock you down again while she wines and dines with her political donors. It's utter hypocrisy. https://t.co/PmiygfqN7F

— Kevin McCarthy (@GOPLeader) August 22, 2021

While Pelosi talks about how the party can reach out to young people… if this were a scene in a black comedy you’d think it was too much https://t.co/DYohJmPwtB

— Miranda Devine (@mirandadevine) August 22, 2021

With thousands of Americans trapped in Afghanistan—Chuck Schumer dances with late night hosts in Central Park

With thousands of masked American kids going back to school—Nancy Pelosi dines unmasked with billionaires in Napa

If you’re not disgusted, you’re not paying attention

— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) August 22, 2021

If Trump stranded tens of thousands of Americans in arguably the largest hostage situation ever, and did so with the utter incompetence we are all seeing from the Biden administration Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer would have Articles of Impeachment filed by lunchtime. #Biden

— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) August 19, 2021

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Biden has been criticized from all sides over the past week for his administration's handling of the chaotic evacuation from Kabul. On Wednesday, three days after the Afghan government collapsed, he was lambasted for making public remarks regarding COVID-19 without addressing the situation in Afghanistan or taking any questions.

Meanwhile, Vice President Kamala Harris, who previously stated that she played a key role in Vice President Joe Biden's decision to withdraw from the Central Asian country, arrived in Singapore on Sunday and has remained largely silent on the situation in Afghanistan, with the exception of a few tweets defending the withdrawal.

* A terrorist organization banned in Russia