Trump predicts Schumer will retire rather than lose primary election

President Donald Trump said he expects Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., to retire because he doesn’t believe the senator can win a primary.

Trump’s comments come as he battles with Schumer and other Democratic leaders like House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., over a partial government shutdown that continues into its ninth day Thursday.

As a result, Trump said Schumer and Jeffries are “holding the entire federal government hostage.” However, Trump noted that other Democrats, like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., said just before the shutdown that Republicans could come to his office and negotiate at any time.

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Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., speaks at a rally in New York on May 1, 2025. (Angelina Katsanis/The Associated Press)

“She’s taking Hakeem Jeffries’ place and Schumer is afraid to run against him. And right now, I don’t know, that could change. Life is crazy, right?” Trump said during a Cabinet meeting Thursday. “But right now, I don’t think he can beat anyone. So he’ll lose in a primary. I would say he’ll retire before he loses in a primary. I think Schumer will retire, because he can’t beat anyone, his polls are so bad.”

Trump’s comments also come just after Axios reported in September that Ocasio-Cortez was laying the groundwork for a Senate or presidential run in 2028.

Schumer’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.

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President Donald Trump said he expects Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., to retire because he doesn’t believe the senator can win a primary. (J. Scott Applewhite/Associated Press)

Meanwhile, the White House is at odds with congressional Democrats over the lack of funding that led to the government shutdown. While Republicans claim it was Democrats who triggered the shutdown because they failed to support a stopgap funding bill, Democrats have placed the blame on Republicans who control both the House and Senate.

Schumer, in particular, was criticized by the White House, especially after Schumer told Punchbowl News that conditions were improving for Democrats with each day the shutdown continued.

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The White House criticized Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., on Oct. 9, 2025, for a comment he made about the government shutdown. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images; Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters)

“Every day gets better for us,” Schumer told the outlet Wednesday.

In response, Trump said Schumer was not acting on behalf of the American people.

“It’s a confession that he’s not acting to serve the people, but to serve the partisan interests of his party,” Trump said at the Cabinet meeting.