Dems' shutdown livestream draws just a few dozen viewers as Trump tells liberals 'cry all you want'

WASHINGTON, DC: The Democrats tried to turn the government shutdown into a big streaming event, but it barely drew any viewers.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries launched an 11-hour YouTube livestream to sound the alarm about the “perilous nature” of the stoppage. But the audience was sparse at best.

"At times, just a few dozen viewers were watching the YouTube stream," Politico reported. "Later in the evening, Democrats said some 35,000 people tuned in to watch Jeffries. But on YouTube, Democrats peaked at around 1,000 viewers.”

To make matters worse, the White House’s competing stream outperformed them easily, pulling over 100,000 viewers at its peak.

"Meanwhile, @WhiteHouse is [smashing] Democrats on the viewer count," White House Communications Director Steven Cheung gloated. 

Liberal eyeballs seemed to have flocked elsewhere, possibly to Bernie Sanders’ socialist stream, which drew more than 90,000 viewers, Politico noted.

Jeffries’ camp tried to brush it off, claiming their numbers on X were higher. "As Leader Jeffries has consistently said and done, Democrats are in a more-is-more environment," said spokesperson Christie Stephenson. "Apparently for some, that means more is more snark."

Trump and Republicans accuse Democrats of fueling shutdown 

All the while, Trump was busy fanning the flames. The shutdown officially began at 12:01 am Wednesday, and the president wasted no time unleashing his snark.

On his social media platform Truth Social, he reposted a MAGA supporter sneering at liberals. "Cry all you want, he's doing exactly what I hired him for," the post read.

Vice President JD Vance and Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt came out swinging at an afternoon press briefing, pointing fingers directly at Democrats for refusing a short-term funding plan.

"President Trump and the Republicans will not force American taxpayers to pay for free healthcare for illegal aliens," Leavitt declared.

"What [Democrats] have done instead, is shut down the government because we won't give billions of dollars to healthcare funding for illegal aliens," Vance added.

He zeroed in on progressives specifically, blaming the “Chuck Schumer/AOC wing” for bringing the government to a halt.  

Health care subsidies at center of Congress standoff over shutdown

At the crux of the stalemate are the tax credits that made health insurance cheaper for millions during the pandemic. Those subsidies are set to expire at the end of the year unless Congress intervenes.

According to a KFF analysis, losing them would more than double premiums for people on subsidized plans.

But there’s no bipartisan sentiment in the air at this point. Senate Majority Leader John Thune reportedly remarked, "When you have critical mass, come and talk to me."

Thune also gave no sign that leaders were even negotiating, shrugging that the funding bill might sit in limbo for “at least several days.”

The Republican proposal on the table was a seven-week extension. However, Democrats shot it down, saying it needed to include those health care subsidies.

White House freezes billions for blue states amid shutdown fight

The White House appears to have launched a financial chokehold on blue states. On Day 1 of the shutdown, OMB Director Russ Vought announced on X that roughly $18 billion for New York City infrastructure projects was frozen to keep money from flowing to “unconstitutional DEI principles.”

A few hours later, he announced that nearly $8 billion in clean energy funding was being cut to stop fueling the “Left’s climate agenda.” Sixteen states were flagged as impacted.

Democrats blasted the move as an assault on jobs. "This is a job killing administration," Jeffries fumed. "Job creation is down, but you know what’s up? Costs."

Behind closed doors, things sounded even more belligerent. According to someone briefed on a private GOP call, Vought told House Republicans that federal layoffs and firings could be coming within days.

Meanwhile, senators will shuffle back into town after Yom Kippur to take another stab at voting on the GOP’s short-term funding measure.

It’s worth noting that the GOP holds a 53–47 majority and needs seven Democrats to flip for a resolution. Until then, Washington remains in gridlock.

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