Schumer on the ropes: Weak Trump responses see Democratic leader suffer worst-ever slide in polls

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If he can’t make it here, can he make it anywhere?

A new poll from Siena College shows that half of New Yorkers do not like how Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is handling the second Donald Trump presidency.

The survey finds that 50 percent of New Yorker state voters have an unfavorable opinion of Schumer — who has served in the Senate since 1999 and became minority leader in 2017 — and just 38 percent have a favorable opinion of him.

Schumer faced considerable criticism from many in his party in March after he voted for a stopgap spending bill that Republicans jammed through the Senate despite a majority of the Senate Democratic caucus and all but one House Democrat voting against it. In the days leading up to the vote and even after, numerous Senate Democrats voiced their strong opposition despite the fact that voting against it would lead to a government shutdown.

And many Democrats mocked Schumer for seeming out of touch and geriatric after he led a fairly milquetoast protest in front of the Treasury Department in February chanting, “We will win.” In the spring, he received even more criticism when he told CNN’s Dana Bash on State of the Union that he’d sent a “very strong letter” with “eight very strong questions” that even had the journalist near rolling her eyes.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., faces low approval numbers in his home state. (AP)

The polling represents the 74-year-old Schumer’s lowest numbers since he became a senator, according to Siena College, which has tracked his approval back since February 2005. Prior to his time in the Senate, he served in the House of Representatives for 18 years.

During his time as majority leader, Schumer held together a tenuous coalition of 50 Democrats in the first two years of Joe Biden’s presidency, passing Covid-19 relief legislation, the first major piece of gun legislation in almost 30 years, an initiative to promote the manufacturing of semi-conductors in the United States and the Inflation Reduction Act, Biden’s signature climate and health care law.

During the next two years, Schumer focused heavily on confirming Biden’s judicial nominees.

But many Democratic voters see him as ill-equipped to stand up to Trump. In January, 45 percent of New Yorkers had a favorable opinion of him and 41 percent had an unfavorable opinion of Schumer.

The decline in favorability appears to come from a drop among Democrats and residents of New York City. In January, 68 percent of Democrats had a favorable opinion of him, with 23 percent of Democrats having an unfavorable opinion of him.

But his favorable number among Democrats dropped to 49 percent and 39 percent of Democrats have an unfavorable opinion of him.

Schumer also saw a decline in support in his hometown of New York City. In January, 55 percent of New York City residents had a favorable opinion of him and 35 percent had an unfavorable opinion of him. Now, 39 percent of residents of New York City have a favorable opinion of him and 46 percent have an unfavorable opinion of Schumer.

One of the few groups where his approval increased came among Jewish voters. Earlier this year, Schumer released a book about antisemitism and he remains an outspoke supporter of Israel even as many in his party continue to criticize the war being prosecuted against Gaza by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

In Januaty, 45 percent of Jewish New Yorkers had a favorable opinion of him and 47 percent had an unfavorable opinion of him. Now, 52 percent of Jewish New Yorkers have a favorable opinion of Schumer and 43 percent have an unfavorable opinion of him.

Schumer does not face re-election until 2028, when there will be another presidential election. Democrats face long odds to retake the Senate in 2026 and are hoping to flip states like North Carolina and Maine as they pray for miracles in Ohio, Texas and Iowa.

But many have hoped that a more progressive Democrat like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), the democratic socialist congresswoman who represents the Bronx and Queens, will stage either a primary challenge or run if Schumer retires.

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