Schumer calls for meeting with Trump amid shutdown

For the last three weeks, Democrats have been digging in, refusing to negotiate for a one-year extension on the Obamacare subsidies. At one point, it appeared that sentiment was going back behind the Democrats, but that momentum has been lost.

That is why I believe Senator Chuck Schumer’s (D-NY) renewed call for a meeting with Trump is a sign that Dems are starting to crack.

It just keeps getting better

Several days ago, I did a report outlining how Democrats could have used reconciliation in 2021 or 2022 to have these tax breaks codified, but they chose to extend them instead.

In that report, I said that I believed it was purposely done to create leverage if they lost the White House in 2024, which they did.

During a recent interview with Punchbowl, Schumer more or less admitted that was the case, having stated, “Every day gets better for us.”

Then he really gave up the tapes, adding, “It’s because we’ve thought about this long in advance, and we knew that health care would be the focal point on Sept. 30, and we prepared for it.”

No hit for Trump

Now, I don’t know about you, but to me, Schumer’s statement makes it sound like they had planned this all along, and I think that is why Trump has not really taken a hit on this front since the shutdown started.

In the poll on the issue that was just released, Trump’s approval rating has remained steady, while Democrats are getting crushed, and Congress in general is on the decline.

Democrats want Trump to take the hit to hurt the party in the 2026 cycle, but it’s just not happening.

This defies history, as presidents always go down in approval during a government shutdown. So, let’s hope the GOP can defy history again in 2026 by holding the House.

Starting to cave

While Trump has left the negotiating up to Congress, Schumer is now calling on Trump to sit down with Democrat leadership to try to work something out.

Schumer stated, "Hakeem [Jeffries] and I reached out to the president today and urged him to sit down and negotiate with us to resolve the healthcare crisis, address it, and end the Trump shutdown.”

Schumer continued, ‘He should sit -- the things get worse every day for the American people. He should sit down with us, negotiate in a serious way before he goes away."

Meanwhile, Trump just keeps going about his business, heading back home over the weekend for some golf, and Democrats insist this is a GOP shutdown even though the GOP is supporting the continuing resolution (CR) and all but three Democrats voted against it.