>> Continued From the Previous Page <<
His attempt at damage control quickly backfired. When he added, “In the New York Times, but it’s biased,” the chamber broke out into laughter. Even Schumer seemed flustered, snapping back, “I don’t always believe the New York Times … You can be sure of that. Neither do you.”
Democrats Double Down on Taxpayer-Funded Healthcare
Behind the standoff is a radical Democratic demand that Republicans flatly refuse to entertain.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and Schumer have been pushing the Trump administration to “compromise” by extending Obamacare tax cuts and guaranteeing taxpayer-funded healthcare “for all.”
Republicans say Democrats are trying to smuggle in billions in funding for illegal aliens while ignoring the needs of American citizens. Vice President JD Vance summed up the problem bluntly after a White House meeting with congressional leaders.
“If you look at the original they did with this negotiation, it was a $1.5 trillion spending package, basically saying the American people want to give massive amounts of money, hundreds of billions of dollars to illegal aliens for their health care, while Americans are struggling to pay their health care bills,” Vance said.
WATCH:
GOP and Independents United Against Shutdown
While Democrats remain divided over whether it’s worth shutting down the government to get their demands, Republicans and independents are firmly opposed.
According to the NYT/Siena poll conducted just before the October 1 deadline, only 27 percent of respondents said Democrats should go through with a shutdown if they didn’t get their way. That left the overwhelming majority against the idea — a clear warning sign that voters are tired of partisan brinkmanship.
Schumer’s Laughable Strategy
Instead of addressing the substance of the criticism, Schumer chose to attack the credibility of the New York Times — a newspaper that Democrats have long relied on to carry water for their talking points.
The irony wasn’t lost on Republicans. To hear Schumer accuse the Times of being biased against Democrats was too much for his colleagues, who openly mocked him on the Senate floor.
At a time when Americans are watching their leaders closely, Schumer’s credibility took a serious hit. The laughter wasn’t just about a single poll — it was about the absurdity of blaming the New York Times for his party’s failing shutdown strategy.
Bottom Line
Schumer may have thought dismissing the poll would shield Democrats from political fallout, but the opposite happened. By accusing one of the Left’s most loyal institutions of bias, he managed to humiliate himself and remind voters why Democrats are losing the narrative on the shutdown.
With only 27 percent of Americans backing their brinkmanship, Democrats now face a grim reality: the more they double down, the more isolated they become.
