America is at a crossroads. And a choice needs to be made.
Now Donald Trump hit Americans with a sobering warning that you won’t want to miss.
Trump’s Kamikaze Analogy for Democrats
In a striking comparison, President Donald Trump likened Democrats to Japanese kamikaze pilots from World War II who carried out s-icide missions, as the record-breaking government shutdown drags on. Fresh off his Asia trip that included a stop in Japan, Trump made the remarks during the 36-day impasse—the longest in American history.
“I think they’re kamikaze pilots,” Trump told Republican senators at a breakfast at the White House on Wednesday. “I just got back from Japan and talked about the kamikaze pilots. I think these guys are kamikaze. They’ll take down the country if they have to.”
Trump also argued that Democrats aren’t shouldering enough responsibility for the crisis. “It is Democrat-created, but I don’t think they’re getting really the blame that they should,” Trump said, adding that the government must open soon.
Roots of the Funding Stalemate
The partial shutdown began when funding lapsed on Oct. 1, triggered by deadlock in the Senate over a temporary bill to keep the government running through Nov. 21. At the heart of the Republican-Democrat divide are healthcare clauses in any potential deal.
Trump and his party accuse Democrats of pushing to extend healthcare to undocumented immigrants, pointing to a clause that would undo elements of Trump’s signature tax and policy reform—dubbed the “big, beautiful bill”—which tightened Medicaid access for non-citizens.
Democrats counter that this is a misrepresentation, insisting they simply seek to lock in Affordable Care Act subsidies due to expire by the end of 2025.
Election Fallout and Democratic Pushback
Trump linked the shutdown directly to Republican setbacks in Tuesday’s elections, including gubernatorial losses in Virginia and New Jersey. “Exactly one year ago, we had that big, beautiful victory,” Trump said.
“But I thought we’d have a discussion after the press leaves about what last night represented and what we should do about it. And also about the shutdown and how that relates to last night.”
“I think if you read the pollsters, the shutdown was a big factor. Negative for the Republicans, and that was a big factor,” Trump said.
On Capitol Hill, Senate Democrats rejected a Republican interim funding proposal on Tuesday to end the shutdown. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., stood firm, vowing no support for bills lacking Affordable Care Act subsidy extensions.
“The only plan Republicans have for healthcare seems to be to eliminate it, and then to tell working people to go figure it out on their own,” Schumer said Tuesday. “That’s not a healthcare plan. That’s cruel.”
