Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer faced ridicule Tuesday evening after claiming a New York Times poll blaming Democrats for the government shutdown was “biased.”
The laughter erupted in the Senate chamber as Schumer argued that his hometown paper was unfairly portraying Democrats in a negative light.
The New York Times/Siena poll surveyed 1,313 registered voters between September 22 and September 27.
It found that 65 percent of respondents said Democrats should not shut down the government, while only 27 percent said they should.
Even Democrats were split on the issue, with less than half supporting a government shutdown if their demands were unmet.
Schumer dismissed the poll as biased, saying, “Now I know the leader is going to show a poll that says that the Democrats will be blamed for the shutdown. There are many more polls that show Republicans are blamed. The question in that poll is biased. Biased. It’s in the New York Times, but it’s biased.”
He added, “I don’t always believe in the New York Times, you can be sure of that. Neither do you.”
Conservatives quickly pounced on Schumer’s remarks, calling out his hypocrisy and the media’s leftward tilt.
“Schumer is admitting the New York Times is biased, yet relies on them when it suits him,” a commentator said.
Republicans argue that Democrats are attempting to deflect blame for the shutdown, using media bias as a convenient excuse.
The government officially shut down as the clock struck midnight on October 1 after Democrats blocked the Republicans’ clean continuing resolution.
Critics say Schumer’s antics highlight a broader trend of Democrats attacking poll results that contradict their narrative.
The New York Times poll also confirmed what Americans have been saying: Democrats’ push to shut down the government is unpopular.
Conservative voices seized on the Senate laughter as evidence that even lawmakers find Schumer’s claims absurd.
“This is political theater,” one analyst said. “The Democrats are desperately trying to shift blame away from themselves.”
Schumer’s comments come amid a string of high-profile failures by the Democrat leadership to manage legislative priorities effectively.
Republican leaders argue that the shutdown was avoidable if Democrats had agreed to a clean CR.
The NYT poll’s findings, though dismissed by Schumer, reflect the real frustrations of the American public.
“Americans are tired of political games,” a pundit said. “Schumer calling polls biased only exposes how out of touch Democrats are.”
Social media erupted after the Senate clip went viral, with conservatives mocking Schumer for attempting to delegitimize factual reporting.
