President Donald Trump lashed out at Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Monday night, accusing him of mishandling the government shutdown that is expected to end after a record 43 days. Speaking on Fox News’ The Ingraham Angle, Trump said Schumer “made a mistake” by pushing his party to keep the government closed in hopes of forcing concessions from Republicans.

“I think he made a mistake in going too far,” Trump told host Laura Ingraham shortly before the Senate approved a bipartisan funding bill to reopen the government. “He thought he could break the Republicans, and the Republicans broke him.”

The Senate measure, which passed late Monday, funds the government through January 30, 2026, and extends money for SNAP benefits, veterans programs, and congressional operations through the end of next September.

Schumer, 74, voted against the spending package alongside 38 Democrats. But eight members of his caucus broke ranks and joined 52 Republicans to pass the bill, after Senate leaders struck a limited agreement to hold a future vote on extending Affordable Care Act tax credits. That small concession, originally offered by Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) weeks ago, did little to mend the widening rift among Democrats. Several within the party are now openly calling for Schumer to step aside as leader, arguing that his shutdown gamble backfired and fractured party unity.

“I’ve never seen a politician change so much,” Trump said of Schumer. “He was a pretty talented guy, but he’s lost his talent. I feel badly, because I know Chuck Schumer. I’ve known him since he was a person who loved Israel, and now he’s a Palestinian. He’s become a Palestinian.”

During the wide-ranging interview, Trump also took aim at Democratic spending priorities and accused them of pushing “$1.5 trillion for people that came in illegally.” “We’re trying to get them out, because we don’t want 11,000 murderers in our country,” he claimed. “And we have drug dealers, and we have everything else, and they wanted to make sure they got good healthcare.”

He again denounced the Affordable Care Act, calling it “horrible” and saying premiums “have gone up like rocket ships.” “I want, instead of going to the insurance companies, I want the money to go to an account for people where the people buy their own health insurance,” Trump said. “They’re actually able to go out and negotiate their own insurance. Call it Trumpcare.”

The president also pushed back on criticism of his economic policies, insisting that reports of rising prices are politically motivated. “More than anything else, it’s a con job by the Democrats,” he told Ingraham when asked about voter concerns over inflation. “They put out something, ‘Say today, the costs are up.’ They feed it to the anchors of ABC, CBS, and NBC. It’s like a standard. They do exactly what they say.”

“So, are you ready? Costs are way down,” Trump declared. “Gasoline is gonna be hitting $2 pretty soon, or around $2. Gasoline is at $2.70 now.” (As of this week, the national average stands at roughly $3.07 per gallon.) “When gasoline comes down, when energy comes down — and everybody agrees energy’s down — we’ve drilled, you know, drill baby, drill. We’re going like wild.”

When Ingraham pressed him on why voters in recent elections across New York, New Jersey, and Virginia said the economy remains their top concern, Trump dismissed the question. “I don’t know that they are saying that,” he replied. “I think polls are fake. We have the greatest economy we’ve ever had.”

The interview grew more contentious when Ingraham questioned Trump about his administration’s proposal to introduce 50-year mortgages — a plan that has triggered backlash even among some conservative commentators. “Is that really a good idea?” she asked, noting that critics call it “a giveaway to the banks.”

“It’s not even a big deal,” Trump responded. “You go from 40 to 50 years.”

“Thirty to 50,” Ingraham corrected.

Trump continued, “All it means is you pay less per month, you pay it over a longer period of time. It’s not like a big factor. It might help a little bit, but the problem was that Biden did this. He increased the interest rates, and I have a lousy Fed person who’s gonna be gone in a few months, fortunately. Jerome Powell — we call him ‘Too Late.’ He was too late on everything.”

Trump maintained that despite high interest rates, “the economy is the strongest it’s ever been.”

The proposal, however, has drawn fierce criticism from both economic analysts and conservative voices. Fox Business host Charles Payne said bluntly, “I do not like this idea,” while Glenn Beck wrote on social media, “That’s not homeownership. That’s renting. It’s almost like ‘you will own nothing and be happy.’”

In another moment, Trump defended his decision to demolish the White House East Wing to make way for a new ballroom, responding to criticism from former First Lady Michelle Obama. “First of all, the East Wing was a beautiful little, tiny structure that was built many years ago, that was renovated and expanded and despanded and columns ripped out,” Trump said. “It had nothing to do with the original building. It was a poor, sad sight, and I could’ve built the ballroom around it, but it would not have been— we’re building one of the greatest ballrooms in the world. By the way, zero money spent by the government. Zero.”

Asked whether current First Lady Melania Trump opposed the project, the president said, “She loved her little, tiny office, but you know what? She’s very smart. In about one day, she— if you would ask her now, she says it’s great.” He described the demolished wing as “out of common brick, little tiny windows, it looked like hell.”

Trump also sparred with Ingraham over his controversial plan to allow hundreds of thousands of foreign students — including as many as 600,000 from China — to study in the United States. The president defended the idea despite backlash from his own supporters.

“A lot of MAGA folks are not thrilled about this idea of hundreds of thousands of foreign students in the United States,” Ingraham said. “Why is that a pro-MAGA position?”

“We do have a lot of people coming in from China, and we always have,” Trump answered. “We also have a massive system of colleges and universities, and if we were to cut that in half, you would have half the colleges in the United States go out of business.”

When Ingraham pressed him, saying, “So we’re dependent on China to keep our university system going?” Trump shot back, “No, not China, but I actually think it’s good to have outside countries. Look, I want to be able to get along with the world.”

Ingraham countered that China spies on the United States and steals intellectual property. “You think the French are better?” Trump retorted. “Really? I’ll tell you, I’m not so sure. We’ve had a lot of problems with the French where we get taxed very unfairly on our technology.”

He added, “The students pay more than double when they come in from most foreign countries. I want to see our school system thrive. It’s not that I want them, but I view it as a business. You don’t want to cut half the students from all over the world that are coming into our country, destroy our entire university and college system. I don’t want to do that. And don’t forget, MAGA was my idea. MAGA was nobody else’s idea. I know what MAGA wants better than anybody else, and MAGA wants to see our country thrive.”

In recent months, Trump has drawn criticism from his own base for the proposal, which he first announced in August, arguing it would “help save struggling universities.”

Even as he fielded criticism on multiple fronts, Trump appeared energized throughout the hour-long interview, casting himself as both embattled and victorious — a president overseeing, in his words, “the strongest economy in history” and a “winning streak” against Democrats.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)