Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer thinks that Republicans are going to abandon President Donald Trump by the time we enter the summer months. In three to four months, he’s betting the GOP abandons him and in the process, save America. That’s what he said on The View yesterday. He said that Republicans have said in the gym and in the cloakroom, that they’re having trouble with Trump. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell disagreed (via The Hill):
"My prediction is he keeps up on this path...within three, four months you're going to see a whole lot of Republicans breaking with him," Schumer said during an interview with ABC's "The View."Schumer argued while most GOP lawmakers aren't yet willing to break publicly from the White House, they are privately having "real problems" with Trump's policies in his first month.
"A lot of the Republicans, they're mainstream people. ... They will feel they have no choice but to break with him," he said.
GOP leadership are largely dismissing any early signs of discord between Congress and the White House as they slowly try to make progress on an ambitious agenda.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) noted late last week that he's not a fan of Trump's tweeting but he supports the administration's early actions — comparing it to hypothetical administrations led by Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) or Mitt Romney.
.@SenSchumer to @TheView: "When you talk to Republicans quietly...they are having real problems with" Pres. Trump https://t.co/TJd2abALWm pic.twitter.com/na8qXxsCxX
— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) February 21, 2017
Schumer mentioned that the GOP is staying with Trump due to party loyalty and the fact that he’s nominated a Supreme Court nominee that everyone—left and right—seems to like and endorse. There’s also the notion that Trump is delivering on his promises on national security, regulations, and getting the Keystone and Dakota Access pipeline primed for construction. He’s signed executive orders on immigration, one of which targeted sanctuary cities—a hot button issue for conservatives. The other outlines a travel moratorium for seven predominantly Muslim countries from immigrating to the U.S. over a four-month period that got the president in trouble with the courts. A new executive order on the subject, namely carving out an explicit provision excluding green card holders from the so-called ban is expected to be signed later this week. Nevertheless, it’s a popular proposal. He also has nominated the most conservative cabinet in probably the last 20 years at least. The party is behind him. Why would they leave? Moreover, if they do, forget the liberal town hall protests—Trump supporters will make it their mission to boot every congressional Republican who decided to abandon the president. There’s no way the GOP is leaving Trump. If an Access Hollywood video, where the billionaire was engaging in some frank talk about women, couldn’t convince the GOP to leave en masse, then nothing will. Schumer’s remarks is just as ridiculous as when he said that the only way Senate Democrats will work with Trump is if he abandons Republicans and move towards their agenda. That’s not why Trump was elected president—and I think Schumer knows that. My prediction is that the GOP remains firm behind the president for the next four, maybe eight, years.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member