The shutdown is on, and across the fruited plain, a fair number of Americans are asking, "What happens now?" Well, a big part of what happens next is that Democrats need to realize when they're pushing a losing argument. They're demanding $1.5 trillion in new spending, the extension of COVID-era emergency spending, and healthcare for illegal aliens - and none of those are winning propositions.
On Wednesday, Vice President JD Vance appeared on Fox News to talk about the Schumer Shutdown, and as he so often does, the VP made some interesting and cogent points. First, on the issue of the shutdown itself:
.@VP: "[Democrats] shut down the government. Why? Because they're not getting what they want."
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) October 1, 2025
(Health care for illegals) pic.twitter.com/4g7OBIv2QK
The VP says:
You don't shut the government down because you have a policy disagreement. These are two separate questions. There are essential services that have already been appropriated, where we've already agreed, you know, we want our military to have a certain amount of payment. We want air traffic control to have a certain amount, we want to ensure that a certain number of people are able to access food benefits. You don't shut down the government because you have a policy disagreement over a totally separate issue and that's what the Democrats have done, and it really is astonishing.
To go back 20 years, and pretty much the entire time, that I've paid attention to American politics, I have seen Democrats stand before the American people and say, "You don't shut down the government because you're not getting what you want." And here they are, last night, the far-left faction of Senate Democrats, they shut down the government. Why? Because they're not getting what they want. And what makes it extra preposterous, if you actually listen to what they say, they say they want to ensure that it's a premium support program under Obamacare, that they want to keep going. Well, that premium support program doesn't even expire until next year.
So why are you shutting down the government on October the first because of a program that doesn't even expire for another few months? Let's talk about it, let's negotiate, let's do what you do in Washington, D.C., don't shut down the government because you don't get what you want. That's exactly what Senate Democrats have done in this case.
Of course, the Democrats have a motivation that VP Vance, for all his brilliance, doesn't mention. This motivation inspires Democrats in the House and Senate to throw every roadblock they can at the Trump administration, because Orange Man Bad, and the country's best interests just aren't a priority for them right now. That's not a winning message, but Democrats are anything but rational on this issue.
On the "health care for illegal aliens" point, the VP had some more pointed comments:
.@VP nukes the Democrat lie that they aren't trying to give free health care to illegals:
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) October 1, 2025
"It's not something that we made up. It's not a talking point. It is in the text of the bill that they initially gave to us to reopen the government." pic.twitter.com/regw9fGH1i
Read More: Schumer Shutdown Is on Its Way After Latest Senate Vote
Democrats Walk Right Into the Shutdown Trap, Immediately Crash and Burn
VP Vance said:
This is a Democrat talking point. They say, "We're not actually trying to give health care benefits to illegal aliens," and here's why it's not true. There are two Biden-era programs that explicitly gave the taxpayer health care money to illegal aliens that we turned off when President Trump took over in January. Program number one is there's a lot of emergency healthcare at hospitals that are provided to illegal aliens that was funded by the federal government. We turned off that funding, and because of course we want American citizens to benefit from those hospital services, not to be taxed, and then to have those hospital services go to illegal aliens. The second of which is, the Biden administration gave mass parole to millions upon millions of illegal aliens, and then they simultaneously made those parolees eligible for healthcare benefits covered by taxpayers. In the One Big Beautiful Bill President Trump and Congressional Republicans turned off that money for healthcare funding for illegal aliens, the Democrats want to turn it back on.
Of course they do. Lawbreakers of every stripe are a key core constituency for Democrats today. They are relying on keeping illegal aliens counted in the census to boost apportionment in blue states, to try to keep up their presently tenuous hopes of regaining the majority. That can't be allowed to happen; if the Democrats, perish the thought, gain a House and Senate majority in the midterms next year, then it will be an impeach-a-palooza. They'll take aim not only at the president but at everyone in his administration, in his cabinet, and possibly anyone who sat next to him in elementary school.
That's their motivation. That's why they are sticking so hard on what seem like impossibly stupid talking points. As a party, their poll approval numbers are somewhere between athlete's foot and head lice; they are roundly bleeding support, but a beast is at its most dangerous when it's wounded. We shouldn't expect them to be rational at this point. They're desperate.
You can view Vice President Vance's full interview on Fox here.
WATCH IN FULL: @VP @JDVance talks with @foxandfriends about the Democrat Shutdown pic.twitter.com/HdfiWGMLWC
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) October 1, 2025
Rumors are swirling of another Senate vote Wednesday afternoon. Stay tuned.
Editor's Note: President Trump is leading America into the "Golden Age" as Democrats try desperately to stop it.
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