President Donald Trump blasted Democrats’ demands on Tuesday as “unserious and ridiculous” and rejected meeting with them as the government careens toward a shutdown at the end of the month.
The president, 79, posted a wild rant on Truth Social in which he accused Democrats of demanding money to fund health care for undocumented immigrants, transgender surgeries for minors, opening the borders, and more.
He wrote that there are “consequences to losing Elections, but, based on their letter to me, the Democrats haven’t figured that out yet,” and claimed he would only meet with them if they “get serious about the future of our Nation.”
The government will shut down on October 1 if Congress does not pass a funding bill.
A so-called continuing resolution, which would keep the government funded at previous levels through mid-November was passed in the House last week, almost entirely along party lines, before members skipped town.
However, the bill needs sixty votes in the Senate, so Republicans need at least seven Democrats to support the bill to get it passed. But Democrats have slammed Republicans for not including their input and have remained united against it.
On Saturday, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries sent a letter to the president demanding a meeting.
They accused Republicans of wanting to continue gutting health care and wrote that congressional Republicans refused to engage in bipartisan negotiations to keep the government open at Trump’s direction.
“We are ready to work toward a bipartisan spending agreement that improves the lives of American families and addresses the Republican healthcare crisis,” Democratic leaders wrote.
They’ve been warning about the looming spike in health care premiums when enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies end and have demanded that it be addressed as part of the government funding negotiations.
If enhanced tax credits are not extended, enrollees on average could see their premiums increase 75 percent, according to an analysis by nonpartisan KFF.
On Tuesday morning, Jeffries and Schumer released a joint statement that Trump had agreed to a meeting just hours before Trump pulled the plug.
“After weeks of Republican stonewalling in Congress, President Trump has agreed to meet this week in the Oval Office. In the meeting, we will emphasize the importance of addressing rising costs, including the Republican healthcare crisis,” they said.
In his post, Trump repeated some of his favorite accusations against Democrats.
“All Congressional Democrats want to do is enact Radical Left Policies that nobody voted for — High Taxes, Open Borders, No Consequences for Violent Criminals, Men in Women’s Sports, Taxpayer funded “TRANSGENDER” surgery, and much more,” the president wrote.
“Few people voted for what they represent, which would lead to the destruction of America,” he continued.
The president wrote that they must keep the government open and “legislate like true Patriots rather than hold American Citizens hostage, knowing that they want our now thriving Country closed.”
Trump indicated that he would meet with Democrats only if they agreed to the principles of his post, which he referred to as a letter.
Trump Always Chickens Out.Donald Trump just cancelled a high stakes meeting in the Oval Office with myself and Leader Schumer.The extremists want to shut down the government because they are unwilling to address the Republican healthcare crisis that is devastating America.
— Hakeem Jeffries (@RepJeffries) September 23, 2025
Jeffries clapped back in a post on X after the president rejected their meeting.
“Trump Always Chickens Out,” he wrote. “Donald Trump just cancelled a high stakes meeting in the Oval Office with myself and Leader Schumer. The extremists want to shut down the government because they are unwilling to address the Republican healthcare crisis that is devastating America.”
“When you’re finished ranting, we can sit down and discuss health care,” wrote Schumer as Congress is out this week to celebrate the Jewish holiday Rosh Hashanah.
But Senate Republicans praised Trump’s move as “right” in a post in which they agreed that Democrats’ demands were “totally unserious.”
“They’re holding government funding hostage and demanding a far-Left radical wish list as ransom,” they wrote.
The post Trump’s Wild Tirade Accusing Dems of Blackmailing Him Over Government Shutdown appeared first on The Daily Beast.
