President Donald Trump said at the White House, "Chuck Schumer, who I've known for a long time, and the radical left Democrats are holding the entire federal government hostage to appease the extremists in their party." (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images; Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters)
"He's even losing to AOC, plus three," Trump said, referring to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and other members of the progressive "Squad."
The government shutdown is now on its 21st day.
"You can call it the Schumer shutdown or the Democrats shutdown," Trump said Tuesday.
"You can call it whatever you want. And I will say this, that we have Darth Vader, you know, Darth Vader, right?" the president said in reference to Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought. "They call him Darth Vader. I call him a fine man, but he's cutting Democrat priorities, and they're never going to get them back.
WHITE HOUSE SLAMS SCHUMER'S 'DISGUSTING' STATEMENT ON SHUTDOWN AS POLITICAL STANDOFF CONTINUES
President Donald Trump speaks at the Rose Garden patio at the White House Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025. (Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP)
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"In the greatest moment in the history of our country, in terms of wealth, in terms of job creation and in terms of investment coming in, these guys go on strike. It's really a shame. So, I'm asking them to be smart. It's not working. They're getting killed in the polls," Trump said. "The public understands what they're doing. They're doing the wrong thing."
Trump also said Republicans "have to win the midterms," and "we're going to end up with a communist mayor in New York," a reference to democratic socialist mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani.
Greg Norman is a reporter at Fox News Digital.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-says-schumer-senate-democrats-holding-government-hostage-shutdown-we-will-not-be-extorted