Famed civil-rights attorney Alan Dershowitz said Thursday that the Democrats "shot themselves in the foot" with their 25-hour demonstration for gun votes and that the "stunt" could hurt Hillary Clinton this fall.
"I'm a liberal Democrat, supporter of Hillary Clinton," Dershowitz, a Harvard Law School professor emeritus, told CNN host Don Lemon. "They hurt her by making fools of themselves, sitting in on Congress and pulling this kind of stunt.
"If Hillary Clinton is going to win, she's going to win because she has gravitas and because the Republicans are a bunch of buffoons.
"Now, the Democrats are a bunch of buffoons, sitting on the house floor, screaming and singing," he added. "This can't help. They have to be serious."
Democrats ended their sit-in early Thursday after beginning shortly after 11:30 a.m. Wednesday to try to press the House for a vote on gun-control proposals that would expand background checks and block purchases by some suspected terrorists.
House Speaker
Paul Ryan slammed the protest, led by Georgia Rep. John Lewis, and adjourned the chamber for its Memorial Day recess — effectively ending the Democratic effort.
"They have to show gravitas if they're going to win this election against [Donald] Trump," Dershowitz told Lemon. "Passion and anger determine votes — and passion and anger could bring Donald Trump to the presidency.
"The Democrats shouldn't be playing into his hands, as they did with these foolish maneuvers in the House of Representatives."