Sen. Chuck Schumer said Tuesday that President-elect Donald Trump told him he liked Schumer better than Republicans such as Mitch McConnell or Paul Ryan, but he said he remained skeptical of any efforts by politicians to flatter him.
"When you get to be in my position, people do tend to want to flatter you and you've got to take it with a grain of salt," Schumer, the incoming Senate minority leader, said.
The New York Post reported Sunday about Trump's comment, and Schumer confirmed it during a CNN interview with Dana Bash on Tuesday.
"He said something close to it," Schumer told Bash.
The New York Democrat said he remained dedicated to Democratic principles. "I don't know Donald Trump very well. I never played golf with him. I never had a meal with him. I'd cross his path at things in New York. But that's going to have little effect. My guiding light is going to be the principles of our party and what I think are the right principles of our country: helping the middle class, helping those trying to get there," he said.
Newsday reported that in his first speech as Senate minority leader Tuesday, Schumer is expected to say, "What we will always do is hold the president-elect and his Republican colleagues in Congress accountable."
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