Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has landed on his go-to line for the Democrats calling on him to relinquish his post: I’m the best for the job.
What was supposed to be a media blitz this week to promote his new book on antisemitism with previously scheduled stops across several states has instead turned into a full-blown damage control tour over the fallout from caving to Republicans in a shutdown fight.
“I’m the best leader for the Senate,” Schumer said on CBS News Tuesday morning. “[Democrats] don’t have a president. There’s not one leader of the party. There are lots of them. We have a lot of good people, but I am the best at winning Senate seats.”
Later that morning, Schumer appeared on ABC’s The View to make a near-identical pitch.
“When we don’t have a president, there are a lot of leaders,” he said. “But as for the Senate caucus, of which I’m the leader, I should be the leader. And let me just say this: One of the things I am known to be very good at is how to win Senate seats.”
Meanwhile, in between Schumer’s TV appearances, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) offered him a modest lifeline by finally saying he felt Schumer should remain Senate Democratic leader after previously refusing to say so.
Jeffries, speaking to reporters in New York, extended a simple “Yes, I do,” when asked if he supports Schumer.
“Sunday we had a good conversation about the path forward, particularly as it relates to making sure we all speak with one voice in the effort to stop these Medicaid cuts from ever being enacted into law,” Jeffries said at a media event focused on Medicaid.
Schumer canceled his book tour this week that was slated for major U.S. cities, including Baltimore, New York City, Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia, over what his representatives called “security concerns.” Liberal groups planned events to protest the tour not because of the subject matter of antisemitism but due to Schumer leading nine other Senate Democrats to help Republicans fund the government and prevent a shutdown without any policy wins in return.
Schumer stood firm in his argument that the Trump administration’s slashing of the federal workforce and spending would be exacerbated by a shutdown that could only be stopped by the GOP majorities in Congress.
“One of the Republican senators told one of the Democratic senators, ‘You get in this, we’re staying in for six months, nine months, a year, till we decimate the entire federal government,’” Schumer said on The View. “What does a leader do? When you’re a leader, if you see a real crisis a little bit down the road, your job is to stand up and say, ‘We cannot do that.’ And that’s what I did.”
President Donald Trump went so far as to congratulate Schumer on social media last week for “doing the right thing” because it “took ‘guts’ and courage!” The accolade only further infuriated Democrats, particularly in the House, who accused Schumer of selling them out after they banded together in opposition to the funding bill.
While Schumer conceded on The View that Trump “was trolling me,” he also took the opportunity to make jabs at the president for muddying the waters.
“He’s trying to confuse people. He always tries to confuse people,” Schumer said. “He tries to hide what he does.”
With Schumer under the microscope, he’s being heavily scrutinized on his plans to ensure Democrats don’t get rolled the next time around. Protests from voters were among his suggestions of ways to combat Trump, along with the hope that the president’s poll numbers would begin to wane from Democrats continuously hammering him.
Voter sentiment over Trump and the economy is down, with 54% disapproving his economic performance vs. 44% who approve, per an NBC News survey. Regarding inflation and the cost of living, 55% disapprove vs. 42% approve.
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But Democrats’ favorability rating stands at a record low of 29% in a CNN poll, with most Democrats and Democratic-aligned independents wanting the party to focus more on stonewalling the GOP than working across the aisle for policy achievements.
“It’s beginning to work. His numbers have come down,” Schumer said on CBS. “If we keep at it every day, relentless fighting and showing how they’re hurting people so badly, Trump’s numbers will get much lower. His popularity but also his effectiveness will define that. I believe that strategy will work.”