Leader Schumer Floor Remarks On The Decline Of American Optimism Thanks To Trump’s Agenda

Washington, D.C. – Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) today spoke on the Senate floor on the consistent chaos of President Trump’s failed agenda, which is causing American families to pay more for less and optimism about the future to fade. Below are Senator Schumer’s remarks, which can also be viewed here: 

Unfortunately, in Donald Trump's America, American optimism is dying.

This week, a Wall Street Journal-NORC poll found the share of Americans who are positive about the future has fallen to a record low, the lowest level in the poll’s history.

Only one in four Americans believe they can improve their standard of living.

Seventy percent of Americans believe the American dream no longer holds.

That is a tragedy. The great sunny American optimism, which has fueled us to greatness, which has pushed us to move forward despite crises and obstacles in the way, is dying. This is a tragedy and it’s a warning.

And most of all, it reflects how Americans feel under Donald Trump's leadership.

And it's hard to blame Americans who feel this way.

When rent goes up, when mortgages go up, when the electric bill goes up – I just talked about what they’re doing with offshore wind – when groceries get more expensive, people don't want a president obsessed with military parades and winning the Nobel Peace Prize.

They want someone with real solutions, and Donald Trump is stuck in his own little fantasy world.

There's even another study that said Americans now think they’re going to be spending less on Christmas gifts. That’s when you know something is deeply, deeply wrong. Because Americans want to spend more for their children, for their family, for their friends, for their coworkers when it comes Christmastime, to buy gifts.

And it's no accident why we're here.

A lot of Donald Trump's policies have pushed us here.

His tariffs are sending prices up.

They're not creating jobs.

His “Big, Ugly Bill” which he's desperately trying to rebrand, made the biggest cuts to American healthcare in history.

And it took away food from hungry kids to give tax breaks to billionaires.

These are acts of betrayal. That's why this “Big, Beautiful Bill” – they want to rename it, but the American people know what it is – is a “Big, Ugly Betrayal” about everything Donald Trump promised.

Donald Trump’s actions steal people's hope.

It’s like the air being sucked out of your lungs.

And while parents pay more for school supplies, Donald Trump’s family is making billions off crypto schemes.

While small businesses are trying to make sense of his tariffs, he used the White House lawn as a Tesla dealership.

While honest Americans watch manufacturing jobs disappear in red states, Trump is handing government jobs to his cronies and his sycophants.

While people see their health care premiums go up, he’s enriching his billionaire friends with massive tax breaks.

This is not a Golden Age.

This is not American greatness.

This is not what the American people signed up for.

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