ATLANTIC CITY – U.S. Rep. Albio Sires (D-8) built up the crowd ahead of Speaker Nancy Pelosi later this evening.

“She is the only leader in Washington, D.C. today,” the West New Yorker said. “We have a little bit of fraction in the caucus and she is able to put everybody together.

“She’s here today because of you,” sires added. “We have 11 members out of the 12 and she’s very grateful for that.”

Sires panned President Donald J. Trump, focusing on the Republican president’s likening of the whistleblower intelligence officer and the White House aides who helped him as “almost a spy.”

“He is so dumb,” Sires said of trump. “He doesn’t know there are people who are squeamish in this county. He doesn’t know people will go after these people.”

The congressman choked up when he remembered his father, who in his biggest earning year made $17,000.

“He used to wait by the door for that little check,” said Sires, fighting to remain composed in a still room.

“It was because of the unions that he got that,” he added, just before introducing U.S. Rep. Donald Norcross (D-1).

Sires later released the following statement after President Trump threatened the individual who filed the complaint that was released this week:

“After reviewing the whistleblower complaint, I believe that the contents are credible and alarming. What is even more alarming are the President’s not-so-veiled threats to those who report abuses of power. The whistleblower was doing his duty by reporting the information contained in the complaint, through the proper legal channels. President Trump lashed out in an attempt to discredit the whistleblower and threaten those who might consider filing complaints in the future. Some of my colleagues have tried to dismiss his comments but I spent my childhood in Cuba where I saw firsthand what it looks like when a leader attempts to strongarm his critics into silence. I condemn President Trump’s threats and his attempts to hide his own wrongdoing by pointing the finger at those who were simply trying to do their duty. Regardless of party politics, everyone who cares about the foundations of our republic should be alarmed by the President’s reaction to this week’s events.”