The MAGAverse has erupted after Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer relished the fact that Democrats are not taking the brunt of the blame for the government shutdown.
Vice President JD Vance said that the New York senator’s victory lap was “vile,” while White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt called his brief statement “disgusting and revealing.”
The remark that set off the outrage came from an interview with Punchbowl News, in which Schumer said “every day gets better for us” during the shutdown.
As far as polling goes, he is not wrong. A YouGov survey conducted between Saturday and Monday found that 41 percent of Americans blame President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans for the shutdown, compared to 30 percent for Democrats.
While each side has tried to pin the shutdown on the other, it has been everyday Americans who have suffered the most from the budget stalemate. TSA agents and air traffic controllers are among those working without pay, resulting in a surge of callouts that have caused lengthy security lines and, in Nashville’s case, a temporary grounding of flights at its international airport.
Schumer, 74, has now given Republicans new fodder to try to spin the shutdown as a Democrat-caused issue.
“Schumer gets paid during a shutdown, but our military is about to miss a paycheck,” wrote Republican Sen. Rick Scott on Thursday morning. “While our troops are worried about not being able to provide for their families, Democrats are celebrating the pain they’re causing with this reckless Schumer Shutdown.”
Leavitt, 28, had a similar reaction.
“While federal workers stress over missed paychecks, military families turn to food pantries, and airports around the country face delays—Chuck Schumer and the Democrats are bragging that ‘every day gets better’ for them,” she said. “Democrats are gleeful about inflicting pain on the American people.”
Vance, 41, posted, “Better for Schumer. Worse for Americans. What a vile sentiment from an alleged leader in our country.”
Reached for comment, White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said: “The Democrats’ decision to shut down the government over free health care for illegal aliens is hurting all Americans. The Trump administration is encouraging the Democrats to stop the pain and reopen the government with the bipartisan funding proposal they supported just 6 months ago and 13 times under Biden—but Chuck Schumer thinks every day of the shutdown ‘gets better.’ How dismissive to countless Americans struggling because of his party’s decision.”
Republicans appear to have taken more blame for the shutdown because they control the federal trifecta, holding the White House and majorities in the House and Senate.
Schumer told Punchbowl that the shutdown will continue to reflect more negatively on Republicans the longer it pushes on.
“Every time they try something, it doesn’t quite work,” he said. “Even the threat of shutting things—‘We’re gonna close this, we’re gonna close that.’ It’s [reflecting] at least as negative on them as it is on us. I think more so on them.”
Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin, of Oklahoma, countered that neither Republicans nor Democrats are coming out ahead as a result of the budget impasse.
“‘Every day gets better’ for Chuck Schumer as military families are about to go hungry over lost Schumer Shutdown paychecks,” Mullin posted to X. “I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again. Nobody wins in a shutdown.”
