MSNBC’s Symone Sanders-Townsend declared her departure from the Democratic Party on air over the weekend, specifically citing how Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and other Democrats “blew” their chance to oppose President Donald Trump.
Schumer was one of 10 Senate Democrats to join Republicans in supporting Trump’s spending bill to fund the government, drawing ire from other Democrats and prompting some to question Schumer’s ability to continue leading the party. Sanders-Townsend, a co-host of MSNBC’s The Weekend, said there was very little the Democrats could do to justify their decision to side with Republicans to cut $1 billion in Washington D.C. spending.
“I’m a D.C. resident, and I’m p***ed,” Sanders-Townsend said. “Ok, so you know, there’s actually little that the Senate minority leader can say, and the 10 Democrats that voted with the Republicans can say, to appease somebody like me. I’mma change my registration to Independent, first and foremost. Shout out to Hakeem Jeffries, though, because the congressional Democrats stayed together.”
The host then read a Substack post that noted how Democrats claimed Trump would destroy democracy in their campaign against him in the 2024 election. Siding with Republicans to fund the government runs counter to these claims. Sanders-Twonsend also claimed that Senate Democrats did not have “another option” to stand against Trump properly and that they “blew” their only chance.
The Weekend co-host Alicia Menendez added that Schumer’s failure to stand up to Trump is why some Democratic lawmakers are “privately” encouraging Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) to primary the senator, to which Sanders-Townsend argued, “anyone can primary him.”
THE DEMOCRATS ARE DOUBLING DOWN ON STUPID
Chris Matthews, who used to host Hardball on the network, appeared on MSNBC’s Morning Joe Monday, and was critical of Democrats for how “it seemed like they weren’t there” during Trump’s address to Congress on March 4. He contended that the party’s low approval rating is due to how its lawmakers “never question the facts” and allow Trump to shape the narrative to voters.
A CNN poll shows the party’s favorability rating at a record low of 29%. Fifty-seven percent of Democrats and Democratic-aligned independents say the party ought to focus on blocking Republicans and their agenda instead of reaching across the aisle to try to achieve Democratic policy wins.