President Donald Trump said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer overplayed his hand during the recent government shutdown, arguing that Democrats’ strategy backfired and left their party divided.
“I think he made a mistake in going too far,” Trump told Fox News host Laura Ingraham on The Ingraham Angle. “He thought he could break the Republicans, and the Republicans broke him.”
The political standoff ended when eight Democratic senators crossed the aisle to support the House-passed plan reopening the government, which their own party had blocked multiple times. The Senate ultimately voted 60-40 to approve the measure, with final passage in the House expected later in the week.
The revolt has sparked tension within Democratic ranks, as lawmakers like Rep. Ro Khanna of California called for new leadership. Trump, reflecting on Schumer’s evolution, offered a pointed critique.
“I feel badly ‘cause I know Chuck Schumer,” he said. “I’ve known him since he was a person who loved Israel, and now he’s a Palestinian. He’s become a Palestinian… I’ve never seen a politician change so much.”
The shutdown—the longest in U.S. history—was fueled by debate over extending Obamacare subsidies, disrupting thousands of federal workers and halting major services, including flights and food aid programs.
Trump claimed Democrats’ real motivation was to fund benefits for illegal immigrants. “What they really wanted was $1.5 trillion for people that came in illegally, people that come in through and out of prisons,” he argued.
“We’re trying to get them out, because we don’t want 11,000 murderers in our country. You don’t it. Nobody wants it,” he continued. “And we have drug dealers, and we have everything else, and they wanted to make sure they got good healthcare.”
Covering healthcare costs for those in the country illegally, Trump warned, would have “hurt other people’s healthcare.”
Turning to the broader issue, Trump blasted Obamacare as “horrible” and overpriced. “The premiums have gone up like rocket ships,” he said. “And I’m not even talking about just recently, I’m talking about for years they’ve been going up.”
He said Americans should have more freedom to manage their coverage. “I want, instead of going to the insurance companies, I want the money to go to an account for people where the people buy their own health insurance,” Trump explained. “They’re actually able to go out and negotiate their own insurance.”
When asked how Republicans plan to prevent another shutdown when government funding expires on January 30, 2026, Trump hinted that legislation is in the works.
“Well, we’re trying to put in a bill, as you know, or a bill that you can never do that again,” he said. “You can’t just shut down the government because you’re trying renegotiate a deal that you didn’t.”
{Matzav.com}
Was the original Chuck Schumer pro Palestine?