Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer keeps getting worse news as President Donald Trump’s administration rolls forward — and Thursday was the latest bad blow to the longtime Democratic leader.
Not even a quarter of the way through Trump’s second term, and Schumer is fighting for his political life.
Recent polling shows Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., would soundly defeat him by a 21-point margin in a hypothetical 2028 Democratic primary.
The Honan Strategy Group survey, conducted May 15-18 for the Jewish Voters Action Network, shows AOC leading 54 percent to 33 percent among likely Democratic voters in New York City. The poll of 1,136 Democrats carries a margin of error of plus or minus 2.89 percentage points.
Schumer’s struggles have intensified throughout 2025 asTrump returned to office and DOGE advisor Elon Musk began targeting federal agencies.
The 74-year-old senator, who has held his seat for over two decades, recently joined Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., and other Democrats in protests against Trump and Musk, with supporters chanting “we will win.”
In a mid-March interview, Schumer outlined his strategy to undermine Trump’s presidency.
“The last time he was president, which is the closest experience we have with him — and admittedly, the world has changed some, particularly on the media side, how it works — we kept pushing and pushing and pushing and chipping away,” Schumer said. “And when he went below 40 percent in the polls, the Republican legislators started working with us. He was at 51. He’s now at 48. We’re gonna keep at it until he goes below 40.”
But Trump’s approval numbers are rising again after a brief dip during tariff discussions. Trump’s approval among Hispanic voters sits at 60 percent despite Democratic opposition to his border security and deportation policies.
Take a look at the latest —
Trump rebounds completely from 'Liberation Day' slide as @daveweigel notes.
RCP spread was -2.2 points (49.9% to 47.7%) when he announced tariffs April 2nd, later dropping to -7.2.
But after pauses and deals (UK & China), Trump's approval rating is back to 47.8% to 49.7%. https://t.co/9Dz0KVVoDm pic.twitter.com/zQMJTdSpBw
— Philip Melanchthon Wegmann (@PhilipWegmann) May 28, 2025
Meanwhile, Schumer’s own approval ratings have plummeted. A CNN poll released in late April showed him with just a 17 percent favorable and 44 percent unfavorable rating, his worst showing in CNN polling since 2017.
Among Democrats and Democrat-leaning independents, his rating fell from 46 percent favorable and 11 percent unfavorable in January to 31 percent favorable and 30 percent unfavorable in that poll.
When confronted by CNN’s Manu Raju about the dismal numbers, Schumer said he was unfazed.
“There was a poll out today that has your approval rating lower than any other congressional leader, at 17 percent. Are you concerned that you may be a liability for your party?” Raju asked.
“Polls come and go. Our party is united,” Schumer replied, also commenting on the Democratic Party having “real success.”
It is particularly bad for Schumer among younger Democrats, where only 14 percent of Democrats and Democrat-leaning independents under age 35 have a favorable view of him, with 24 percent viewing him unfavorably.
Meanwhile, rival AOC’s star continues to rise. The 35-year-old congresswoman stands at 47 percent favorable and 33 percent unfavorable among New York State Democratic voters according to a Siena College poll, up from 38-39 percent four years ago. Among Democrats, 64 percent view AOC favorably, more than Schumer or Governor Kathy Hochul.
The latest polling data shows AOC’s strength extends across demographic lines, including among Jewish Democratic voters where she leads Schumer 45 percent to 33 percent, with 17 percent undecided. This is particularly notable given AOC’s criticism of Israel’s military actions in Gaza, which she has mislabeled as a “genocide.”
Schumer, who is Jewish and the highest-ranking Jewish official in the United States, has been criticized for his mishandling of antisemitism issues following the October 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks. The longtime Israel supporter said on the Senate floor in 2024 that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was an “obstacle to peace” while calling for elections to replace the leader.
“At this critical juncture, I believe a new election is the only way to allow for a healthy and open decision-making process about the future of Israel,” Schumer said.
AOC has been touring the country with socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-V.T., holding rallies to mobilize voters and “fight oligarchy.” Sanders and AOC have been hosting their “Fighting Oligarchy” tour since March, pulling in large crowds of supporters and quickly becoming the faces of the progressive wing of the Democratic Party.
Talk has advanced of a 2028 primary challenge, though AOC has not formally announced her bid to oust Schumer.
But what is clear is that the anti-Trump messaging from Democrats and their mainstream media allies has borne little fruit, failing to significantly damage Trump’s approval ratings — while sinking their own.