Chuck Schumer Sends Strong Warning to Trump as Democrats Take Control of Senate & House — AC1N

[0:00] always take my phone from me. All right, everybody. So let me begin by just plagiarizing a little bit [0:12] from Frankie Valli, a great New Jerseyite. Oh, what a night. Against all odds, Democrats have [0:21] won the Senate, and we have five words for the American people. Relief is on the way. In 2025, [0:30] when I said we could win back the Senate after we had lost the presidency and the Senate, [0:38] people rolled their eyes. But we never wavered, and now we have won the Senate. What changed? [0:48] What caused that change? First and foremost, our coalition moved as one body, House and Senate, [0:57] to define the issues that Americans cared most about. We talked to Americans. We said, [1:02] what is on your minds? And of course, number one, cost, the high cost of living, how difficult it [1:13] was to raise a family and do the things you wanted to make sure that you'd have a good life and your [1:20] kids would have a good life. And second, they talked about Trump's corruption. We know he was the most [1:27] corrupt president ever by a lot, and people hated it. And so I'll hear more about that later. But [1:37] number one, the American people knew we were on their side on the issues. The second thing we did [1:43] was we recruited great candidates who knew how to tailor their message to the states. [1:49] Every one of the candidates that we recruited, whenever I talked to them, the number one thing [1:56] that motivated them was patriotism. Each one of them could have gotten a different job, probably paid [2:05] more, taken less time. But they believed in their states and they believed in their country. [2:13] And as they campaigned, the American people saw that, that these were good people who really cared. [2:20] And we have an amazing crop of new senators. And that is great. So what we have now seen, [2:30] and this is really important, is a generational remake of the Senate map that is going to change [2:37] America, not only now, but on into the future. When you have Democratic senators who are intent on [2:45] working their states and showing people of their state what Democrats are really about, whether it's [2:53] Iowa, whether it's South Carolina, whether it's Texas, it's going to make a huge difference. This, again, [3:01] is a generational remake of the Senate map that has huge consequences for history. [3:10] Well, in terms of the majority, and maybe it's now 54, it could go up to 55, it could go up to 56. [3:25] But with this majority, Americans have given we Democrats the opportunity to prove ourselves [3:33] worthy of their trust. And that's the most important job, even much more important than [3:38] winning the election, is doing things, is saying, not only have we listened to you, and we are listening, [3:44] but we're going to do things to make your lives better. Many of the folks who voted for us [3:50] yesterday, of course, are still skeptical. That's okay. These voters did not give us the majority [3:56] so we can do whatever we want. They entrusted us with the majority to do what they, the American [4:02] people, want. Republicans received that opportunity two years ago and completely squandered it. [4:10] The GOP misread Americans' demand for change as a mandate to do Trump's self-serving bidding. [4:20] And Trump spent half his time talking about things that were irrelevant to their lives, [4:25] annoying, the reflecting pool, the new wall. But most of the time, he did things that hurt them. [4:40] It raised their health care costs. It raised their electricity bills. It raised their fuel, [4:44] their gasoline and diesel costs. Republican eyes were so glued to Trump's truth social feed [4:53] that they missed the truth, staring them dead in the face. Americans hate the direction our country [5:01] is going in right now. So now, Republicans, we're going to have to choose whether to keep listening [5:09] to the nonsense that's coming out of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue or start acting in the interests of the [5:17] American people. If they continue to embrace Trump, they're going to be following him right over the [5:24] cliff, as this election has shown. And it'll get even worse for them. What is our assignment? [5:31] First, Americans want Washington to bring down the cost of living. The anguish that American families [5:38] feel as they ask themselves, do I pay for gas to drive to work or groceries to feed the kids? Do I pay [5:44] for healthcare to keep my family healthy or electricity to keep my family warm this winter? Second, [5:51] Americans want us to clean up corruption in government. They know that Trump is the most [5:57] corrupt president in American history. No American should have to make trade-offs at the supermarket [6:03] while Trump is making insider trades on the stock market. Americans are calling for accountability, [6:11] not accommodation. And third, they want us to check on Trump's chaos at home and abroad. [6:17] We've seen too many Americans die on our streets and in uniform overseas because of Trump's erratic [6:25] judgment. The American people don't know what the heck we're fighting for in Iran. He's never made [6:29] it clear he changes his mind day to day and minute to minute. This war must end. It must end. And make [6:39] no mistake, whenever Trump defies the will of the American people or the law, we will launch [6:46] investigations, take him to court and entangle him in legislative razor wire. The days of Trump's [6:53] supplicant Senate are over. I'll have more to say in the coming days about how Democrats pulled off [7:00] this victory, how our majority plans to deliver for the American people. But if there's one hopeful, [7:08] I'd like to conclude on this note. If there's one hopeful, optimistic takeaway, we should remember that [7:16] from this election, our democracy runs deep, very deep. Our founders created this amazing document, [7:25] the Constitution. They envisioned co-equal branches of government. What they said was ambition was made [7:32] to counteract ambition. But when ambition turns to blind loyalty, there's only one last firewall. [7:42] They thought the legislature would check a king-like president. This legislature, this Senate has failed. [7:49] And so there was one last firewall. In our system of checks and balances, where power derives from the [7:57] consent to the government, elections have always been the strongest lever Americans have to counter [8:04] a wannabe king, so long as Americans are willing to use it. Yesterday, America did. Even during the most [8:16] difficult times, and these two years have been among them, Americans have never lost faith that they can [8:23] change this country with their vote. The onus is now on us to prove them right. [8:33] Yes. No, no, no. Nope, nope, nope. No, not yet. Yes. Look, we are going to end the war. We have some [8:53] Republicans already who have joined us in ending the war. And the founding fathers had the power of the [8:59] purse as one of the ways of deterring a president who does war without the consent of the American people. [9:06] Yes. You know, okay. Yeah, this is not about me. This is about the American people and what they want [9:25] and what they need and what we can do to help them plain and simple. Yes, Igor, go ahead. Nope, Igor. [9:32] I wouldn't, you know, you'll have to make, everyone will make their own interpretation of what it meant [9:42] in terms of excess. Yes. Look, we want judicial nominees like we showed in 23 and 24, who obey the [10:00] law, who have fidelity to the rule of law. Too many of Trump's nominees did not have that at all. [10:07] Yes. Look, we are focused. The first thing we're going to do is reduce people's costs and work the [10:26] legislative process. So it does. Thank you, everybody. We are going to, he asked, can I work [10:35] with the president? Okay. We are going to work hard. We are going to work hard to drive costs down [10:42] with the president or without him, period. Do you try to deal with the people who are [10:47] voting against you? See, the power of the majority leader. As minority leader, you would have let me [11:12] walk right out the door. Let me go ahead. Ask your question again. So you're going to have a much [11:18] different conference with a lot of senators from very red states. So is this a repudiation of the [11:24] left? And how does this, how does this change how you govern moving forward? Okay. If you listened [11:30] to our candidates, whether they were progressive or more moderate, and we had some of each because [11:37] we're a big tent party, they were saying the same things. Just this morning, they had Corey [11:42] Booker, before I went on Morning Joe, they had Cory Booker and Adam Hamilton. And what they said they [11:49] wanted to do was remarkably similar, reduce costs, end the corruption. Each of our candidates, soon to [11:56] be senators, said it in a way that fit their state. So it's different that you talk about it in Maine [12:03] differently than you talk about it in Kansas, but it was all the same message. And we will be united as [12:09] a caucus focusing on those issues. Some of those, some of those, some of those members. What, what, [12:14] what? What about investigations, the balance between doing investigations and policies? Okay. How much are you all going to investigate? [12:19] Look, there has to be, there was such rampant corruption, there has to be some investigations, [12:24] but we're not going to take our eye off the ball. Number one, reducing costs, ending corruption. [12:31] Okay. So how do you have Senator, Senator Schumer? Hmm? Well, we have a bipartisan group working on [12:39] permanent, permitting reform, and hopefully they'll come up with a good solution. How do you deal, Senator Schumer, [12:46] go ahead. I finally got to Manu. Thank you. How do you, how do you deal with those candidates who won, [12:52] who said they're not going to vote for you? Adam Hamilton, Troy Jackson. Okay. Again, [12:56] to repeat the answer, the issue is not me. I'll be reelected as majority leader, but the issue is [13:04] focusing on the American people and what they want. Thank you, everybody.