US President Donald Trump criticised Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer on Thursday over his recent remarks that “every day gets better” for Democrats amid internal divisions and a government shutdown which now has entered ninth day.Speaking to reporters during a cabinet meeting on Thursday, Trump responded to Schumer’s optimistic statement by saying, “No, every day it’s actually getting worse for them, and they are having a rebellion in the Democrat party because they want to stop.”He added: “If you would see all of Schumer’s – he has said like 10 different times over the years, you can’t shut down the government, you can’t shut down the government. He’s the one that shut it down.”Trump went on to accuse Schumer of playing partisan politics for political gains, “This is a confession that he’s acting not to serve the people, but to serve the partisan interests of his party.”He further said, “Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries and the congressional Democrats are holding the entire federal government hostage,” claiming that Democrats are leaderless and he doesn’t know whom to deal with.Schumer’s comment- “each day our case to fix healthcare and end the shutdown gets better and better and stronger and stronger”- was made earlier in the day on the Senate floor, where he attempted to strike a confident tone regarding Democrats’ position in the ongoing negotiations over federal funding.However, the remark triggered sharp reactions across the Republican spectrum. Senate majority leader John Thune said, “Democrats couldn’t care less whether military families miss a paycheck tomorrow”. He further criticised Democrats saying “it isn’t a political game”.White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt posted on X, calling it a “disgusting and revealing statement” . The US government has entered the ninth day of shutdown and the Congress faces another funding deadline amid partisan disagreements, something Schumer has long argued against. Past video clips circulated by Republicans show Schumer repeatedly stating that shutdowns are harmful and should be avoided at all costs.As the debate intensifies, both parties continue to blame each other for stalling negotiations, with no immediate resolution in sight.
