If the Democrats thought they could elicit a conciliatory tone from the White House regarding their demands on health care to end the shutdown of the federal government — now over a month old — President Donald Trump’s Sunday interview with CBS News’ “60 Minutes” should have put the kibosh on that.
Mind you, it’s not that the signals were there to begin with. But Trump made it especially clear that he wasn’t going to negotiate over health care cuts to pass a continuing resolution, telling Norah O’Donnell that he was “not going to do it by being extorted by the Democrats” and “there is something wrong with these people.”
The interview also included a call to end the filibuster by the president — perhaps not the wisest strategy in the long term, but something that should get Chuck Schumer’s attention.
O’Donnell was effectively there to play the Democrats’ talking points verbatim, particularly on the shutdown and healthcare: “I was looking into it. Three quarters of these people [that] will see their healthcare premiums double live in states where you won in the last election,” O’Donnell said. “I mean, even here in Florida has the highest number of residents on Obamacare in the country.”
“And I’m saying we can fix it, Norah,” Trump shot back.
“I’m very good at [ending shutdowns] … but I’m not gonna do it by being extorted by the Democrats who have lost their way. There’s something wrong with these people,” Trump said. “Schumer is a basket case, and he has nothing to lose. … He’s become a kamikaze.”
“It sounds like it’s not going to get solved,” O’Donnell said.
“It’s gonna get solved, yeah. Oh, it’s gonna get solved,” Trump said. “We’ll get it solved. Eventually, they’re gonna have to vote.”
“You’re saying the Democrats will capitulate?” O’Donnell said.
Should the GOP use the nuclear option to end the shutdown?
“I think they have to. Now, I happen to agree to something else. I think we should do the nuclear option. This is a totally different nuclear, by the way. It’s called ending the filibuster,” Trump said.
.@POTUS: “We can fix [healthcare]… but i’m not going to do it by extortion. I’m not going to do it by being extorted by the Democrats… there is something wrong with these people…
I think we should do the nuclear option… it’s called ending the filibuster.” pic.twitter.com/HSv3Fw3ohb
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) November 3, 2025
While this is unlikely to happen thanks to GOP Senate Majority Leader John Thune — and it likely isn’t a good idea to go nuclear over a standoff the Democrats started — it definitely gives Chuck Schumer a new wrinkle to think about. (As well as a new nickname: “Kamikaze” isn’t half bad.)
Trump also displayed the carrot-and-stick method, saying that — at an appropriate time — he’d deal with the Democrats regarding negotiations on fixing health care, just not to keep a broken program going.
“We can make it much less expensive for people and give them much better healthcare,” Trump said.
“The problem is, they want to give money to prisoners, to drug dealers, to all these millions of people that were allowed to come in with an open border from Biden. And nobody can do that.”
.@POTUS on healthcare: “We can make it much less expensive for people and give them much better healthcare… The problem is, [Democrats] want to give money to prisoners, to drug dealers, to all these millions of people that were allowed to come in with an open border.” pic.twitter.com/uPyrTsoXQh
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) November 3, 2025
At this point, this is the message Minority Leader Schumer and the Democrats need to hear. They believe that this game of chicken somehow makes them look as if they’re “fighting.” Maybe that worked for the first week or two, but what they need to know is that they’re not playing chicken with the other party on the tracks with them. Instead, they’re playing against the train.
If the Democrats are really concerned about health care and the American people, they can re-open their government then sit down at the table and fix a broken system like adults. Or, they can continue to be responsible for a month-long shutdown that’s paralyzed the federal government until they get something they almost certainly won’t. Trump threw down the gauntlet on Sunday: It’s their choice, but they have to choose and bear the responsibility for it.
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