De Blasio, Trump Sons Get Into Twitter Spat Over Emissions Rally

NEW YORK — After Mayor Bill de Blasio threatened fines against their family buildings under new energy-efficiency rules, President Donald Trump's sons fired back through the natural medium: Twitter.

Eric Trump fired off four tweets Monday afternoon criticizing de Blasio for singling out the president at a rally, where the mayor said eight Trump buildings could face about $2.1 million in fines starting in 2030 if their emissions are not reduced.

"The fact that the Mayor of a major city would attack an iconic organization (which employs thousands of hardworking New York taxpayers) for his own political gain is an abuse of power, unethical and simply counterintuitive," Eric Trump tweeted Monday afternoon.

The president's second son tried to take the high road as he closed the missive with an entreaty.

"Maybe one of these days we can work together, an invitation which remains open to you anytime," he wrote. "I wish you and our great city the best."

As with most online arguments, the discourse quickly devolved after de Blasio shot back Monday evening.

In a tweet of his own, the Democratic mayor doubled down on his threat to make the Trumps pay under a new city law set to take effect this week.

The measure will require buildings larger than 25,000 square feet to eventually reduce their emissions by 80 percent by 2050 or face fines. De Blasio has not signed the bill, but it will automatically take effect on Friday.

"You and your dad have spent decades evading taxes and stiffing your workers," de Blasio tweeted. "NYC’s Green New Deal is one law the Trumps won’t get away with breaking."

Eric Trump then slammed the mayor's leadership on Tuesday, saying the city has "gone to s---" on his watch and that de Blasio has "never created a job in (his) life."

"Crime is up, the men & women of the NYPD detest you, homelessness is rampant, our streets are dirty and people are leaving our city in record numbers," tweeted Trump, who is an executive vice president at his father's company, the Trump Organization.

Trump's fiery retort got a retweet from his father and his older brother, Donald Trump Jr., who said that the mayor had been "Owned!!!"

The elder Trump son also took shots at de Blasio's presidential ambitions. The mayor has said he will announce this week whether he will join the field of Democrats vying to unseat President Trump in 2020.

"It seems @NYCMayor has been a bit too busy getting whopping crowds of 4 & 5 people in the primary states to see the damage he’s inflicted on NYC," Donald Trump Jr. tweeted Tuesday afternoon. "I look forward to his presidential run being even less successful than his time as mayor... if that’s even possible."

Despite the mayor's focus on Trump's properties, several other big buildings are reportedly worse polluters. They include the Time Warner Center, the MetLife building and Mount Sinai Medical Center, according to a New York Post editorial.