MSNBC’s Jen Psaki questioned on Tuesday how Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) went from a “fiery” Democratic leader during the shutdown to now the perceived villain for some on the left.
“I just want to acknowledge what’s happened here in Washington over the last couple of days because it may feel kind of like a big whipsaw if you remember this video from just a few weeks ago,” Psaki said on The Briefing.
Psaki then aired an October video of Schumer posted to social media in which he claimed the government shutdown fight with Republicans was “life or death.”
“Donald Trump and the Republican Party are hellbent on taking health care away from 60 million people, closing community clinics, rural hospitals, nursing homes, all so they can keep giving tax breaks to their billionaire friends. It’s a disgrace. So Democrats have three words for this. No f**king way. It’s literally life or death,” Schumer said.
After a 40-day-plus shutdown, eight Senate Democrats voted to advance a Republican bill to fund and reopen the federal government this week. Schumer was not one of them, but many Democrats were angered by his apparent inability to control his caucus.
Psaki argued Democrats felt they were in a good position to keep up the “fight,” and she questioned what happened to Schumer as the Democratic leader in the Senate.
Republicans and Democrats were previously in a standstill over funding the government, with Democrats demanding an extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies to be included in a continuing resolution bill.
Psaki argued:
That guy was fiery. There was ominous music. He swore. I mean, there was a lot in that video. What happened to that guy? And of course, Democrats had every reason to feel like they were in a good position to keep up the fight. I mean for a range of reasons. Polling just last week from NBC News found that voters blame Trump and Republicans for the shutdown over Democrats by a 10-point margin. And that was before Democrats absolutely cleaned the clocks of Republicans all across the country last Tuesday. Signaling that voters were behind their efforts to stand up to this administration.
Watch above via MSNBC.
The post ‘What Happened To That Guy?’ MSNBC’s Jen Psaki Asks How Schumer Went From ‘Fiery’ Leader To Shutdown Villain first appeared on Mediaite.
