Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) said Wednesday that President Donald Trump is the wrong leader for the moment, pointing to Trump’s own past comments during earlier shutdown showdowns as evidence that presidents, not Congress, bear ultimate responsibility when the government closes.
Warren Points To Trump’s Past Shutdown Comments
On X, Warren wrote, “I agree with Donald Trump. Trump is not the right leader for his moment.” She added an image strip that mentions her saying, “Donald Trump today should take a hint from Donald Trump yesterday,” arguing he should accept blame for the current shutdown.
Warren cited Trump’s 2011 interview on NBC’s “Today” show, when he said of a looming shutdown under President Barack Obama. “In my opinion, I hear the Democrats are gonna be blamed, I hear Republicans are gonna be blamed, I actually think the president would be blamed… If there is a shutdown … I think it would be a tremendously negative mark on the president of the United States. He’s the one that has to get people together,” Trump said at the time.
In 2013, as murmurs of another closure unfolded, Trump made a similar point on Fox News, saying people would remember “the president of the United States” for a shutdown and that “the pressure is on the president.”
Parties Trade Blame Amid Eligibility Facts On Healthcare
Trump and Republican allies have tried to pin the current lapse on Democrats, accusing them of pushing “free health care” for people in the country illegally. An independent fact-check by the Associated Press notes that undocumented immigrants are not eligible for federally funded coverage such as Medicaid or ACA marketplace plans.
Democrats, for their part, say Republicans engineered the standoff and accuse Trump of refusing to negotiate in good faith.
Warren Expands Critique To Tariffs, Data Transparency
Warren also broadened her critique beyond the shutdown. In a separate post on Wednesday, she argued Trump’s tariff policy has made housing “even more expensive,” tying trade moves to a worsening affordability crunch. Last week, she accused the White House of keeping the September jobs report under wraps during the shutdown, leaving the public and the Federal Reserve “flying blind.”
The clash highlights a familiar Washington pattern of presidents and their opponents trading blame while federal services stall and workers brace for uncertainty, even as past statements resurface to test today’s talking points.
Photo courtesy: Sheila Fitzgerald / Shutterstock.com
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