Copyright Staten Island Advance
The ongoing federal government shutdown has halted pay for most federal workers, withheld SNAP payments from families and caused major disruptions to air travel. SiriusXM radio host Chris “Mad Dog” Russo was frustrated enough with the situation to unleash a tirade on his show “Mad Dog Unleashed,” targeting both Congress and President Donald Trump. In a recording posted online by Sports Illustrated writer and podcast host Jimmy Traina, Russo began by blasting Congress for its failure to reach a deal before the Senate passed its bill to reopen the government Monday night. “All of you should be ashamed,” Russo said. “Every single elected official on both sides of the aisle should look themselves in the mirror, how they let down the American public and made us a laughingstock around the world.” Russo then touched on how the shutdown affected air travel, mocking the congestion at airports caused by air traffic controllers calling out sick to earn money elsewhere while not getting paid by the government, using the three airports around New York City as examples. “It’s not about winners and losers or who is right and who is wrong,” Russo said. “This is about doing something good for the American people and say, ‘You know what? All right, they’re wrong, but I got to step up here and make sure that the air traffic controllers are there with the aircraft and in towers and not saying, ‘Well, your turn LaGuardia, your turn Kennedy, Newark, it’s been 40 minutes. Send a plane out that’s been sitting there for 15 hours.’ That’s not the way this works.” After criticizing Congress, Russo then turned his attention to Trump and his appearance at the Washington Commanders-Seattle Seahawks game with Fox Sports play-by-play announcer Kenny Albert and color analyst Jonathan Vilma, criticizing Trump for being there while the shutdown was ongoing. “I got the president sitting there with freaking Vilma breaking down the 2003 (New Orleans) Saints,” Russo said. “You can’t make this stuff up. He’s chest bumping Vilma when they’ve got a 75-year-old who’s been sitting in Miami International for three days. He’s got hearing aids and he can’t hear the announcements about when his JetBlue flight takes off for Bozeman...My God, it’s sickening.” Finally, Russo joked that he should leave the country over how it’s being run. “I can’t stand it,” Russo said. “I should move. Who was the one? Susan Lucci? Who moved? (actress Eva) Longoria moved. I should do the same thing. I’ll do this show from Madrid. You can hear me every day live.”
