Are Chuck Schumer And Donald Trump Striking Up A Bromance?

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By Daniel J. Solomon September 8, 2017

President Trump and Senator Chuck Schumer have for a change decided to say positive things about each other – in a possible sign of a warming relationship between Senate Democrats and the White House.

“He seemed super upbeat,” one Capitol Hill staffer told Politico, referring to Trump’s response after cutting a debt limit deal with Schumer and House minority leader Nancy Pelosi. He was also said to celebrate the positive coverage the deal had generated, telling Pelosi in a phone call, “the press has been incredible.”

Trump shocked congressional Republicans and Democrats this week when he sided with Democrats on the raising of the debt ceiling over the leaders of his own party – arguing that the debt limit should be raised for three months and paired with relief for Hurricane Harvey victims.

Trump gushed to reporters about the new-found comity with Schumer, telling them: “I think we will have a different relationship than we’ve been watching over the last number of years. I hope so.”

When Trump first took office, insiders believed he might hit it off with Schumer, who has a reputation as a dealmaker. But that proved shortlived amid a string of White House blunders.

Contact Daniel J. Solomon at [email protected] or on Twitter @DanielJSolomon

Daniel J. Solomon is the former Assistant to the Editor/News Writer at the Forward. Originally from Queens, he attended Harvard as an undergraduate, where he wrote his senior thesis on French-Jewish intellectual history. He is excited to have returned to New York after his time in Massachusetts. Daniel’s passions include folk music, cycling, and pointed argument.

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