‘As Popular as Chlamydia’: Republicans, and Even Some Democrats, Test the Limits of Hyperbole With Mockery of Chuck Schumer’s Political Predicament

Republicans are testing the limits of hyperbole in mocking Senator Schumer’s current political predicament as his poll numbers crater and Democrats fail to come to his defense. The New York senator is now viewed more negatively than positively by his fellow party members. Senator Kennedy may have put it most aptly in an interview with Fox News on Wednesday night. “Many Democrats are angry at Schumer. Among them right now — we’ve all seen the news — he’s about as popular as chlamydia,” Mr. Kennedy, ever the wordsmith, said. “That, to me, says as much about the Democratic Party as it does about Senator Schumer. What it tells me is that the loon wing of the Democratic Party is firmly in control.”Things have gotten so bad for the Senate Minority leader that even those in his own party are piling on, with one senior House Democrat telling Axios that his popularity is “somewhere between Elon Musk and the Ebola virus.”The trolling of Mr. Schumer began in earnest with President Trump last week, when he commended the Democratic leader for announcing he would support a government funding deal that would keep the lights on through September. The president thanked Mr. Schumer for his support, and told him he had “guts” and “courage.”The Senate Republican Conference then piled on, writing on X that Mr. Schumer should be commended “for backing down and doing the right thing, even though it took a long time.”After Axios reported that additional House Democrats were calling for Mr. Schumer to be removed as leader of the Senate Democrats, Senate Republicans’ official X account posted a link to the article, quoting from the story: “Schumer’s office did not immediately respond to an Axios request for comment.”It’s not hard to imagine why Republicans are having so much fun with Mr. Schumer’s misfortune. On Wednesday, a new poll from the Economist and YouGov showed Mr. Schumer’s approval rating dropping precipitously — driven mostly by his fellow Democrats abandoning him. He is now the most unpopular major political leader in the country, with an approval rating of just 22 percent and a disapproval rating of 55 percent — a net negative of 23 points. The Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, meanwhile, is just six points underwater, while the Senate Majority Leader, John Thune, is a mere five points in the negative. Following his acquiescence to Mr. Trump’s favored spending agreement, Democrats abandoned Mr. Schumer in droves, according to the Economist-YouGov poll, which was conducted after Mr. Schumer backed the funding deal. The New York senator is viewed favorably by only 39 percent of Democrats, while 41 percent have a negative view of him. In February, the Economist-YouGov poll found that Mr. Schumer was viewed favorably by 52 percent of Democrats, while only 25 percent viewed him unfavorably. It has gotten so bad for the Senate leader that his book tour has now been turned into more of a humiliation ritual than a publicity exercise. He has already cancelled a number of appearances along the East Coast scheduled during this week’s Senate recess, citing “security concerns” as liberal groups announced plans to protest his events at New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington. During an appearance on “The View” on Wednesday, Mr. Schumer was confronted by the show’s liberal hosts about his support for the spending bill and his rollover for the Republicans in control of Washington. “I think you caved. I think you and nine other Democrats caved. I don’t think you showed the fight that this party needs right now, because you’re playing by a rulebook [when] the other party has thrown that rulebook away,” one of the panel’s members, Sonny Hostin, told Mr. Schumer to his face.To add insult to injury, the reviews — by both critics and readers — of Mr. Schumer’s book have not been kind. “Just delivered today, and I immediately realized it had no spine,” one review on Amazon reads. “Just a sad pile of pages barely holding together. The second I applied even the slightest pressure, it completely fell apart. Very fragile and certainly not to be relied on under any sort of harsh conditions. Refuses to stand up no matter what I do.” As of Thursday, the book sits at number 78 on Amazon’s book sales list, with an average rating of just 2.4 stars. In the face of all this backlash, Democrats have been reluctant to stand squarely beside Mr. Schumer, who is technically the highest-ranking Democrat in America. Governor Shapiro said Mr. Schumer failed to use his “leverage” in the spending fight by voting to break the filibuster. Senator Murphy declined to say if Mr. Schumer was “the best” person to lead the Senate caucus. Two House Democrats and the influential liberal group Indivisible have already called on Mr. Schumer to step down as leader.

‘As Popular as Chlamydia’: Republicans, and Even Some Democrats, Test the Limits of Hyperbole With Mockery of Chuck Schumer’s Political Predicament

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