Even the Leftmedia Aren’t Always Buying Dems’ Shutdown Spin
In most cases, the mainstream media propagandists are still carrying water for Democrats, but on more than one occasion, they’ve actually challenged the party line.
Democrats can always count on their propagandists in the Leftmedia to advocate the party line.
In the case of the ongoing government shutdown, the media has generally dutifully blamed Republicans, who, they note, control both chambers of Congress and the White House (never mind that pesky Senate filibuster Democrats want to abolish except when they can use it). After this reporting, they poll viewers asking who to blame. Viewers regurgitate what they’re told, and then the media can report that more Americans blame Republicans than Democrats. That’s what we call pollaganda.
But there are some cracks in the unified facade.
Before I get to that, one example of Democrat propaganda is former Clintonista George Stephanopoulos, who regularly uses his platform on ABC to challenge Republicans and aid Democrats. This week, he conducted back-to-back interviews with House Speaker Mike Johnson and Democrat Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.
Predictably, Stephanopoulos pressed Johnson with loaded questions like this doozy: “The Democratic proposal is designed to prevent millions of Americans from losing their health insurance, losing Medicaid coverage, or paying higher healthcare premiums. Why are you against that?”
Translation: When did you stop beating your wife?
Johnson shook his head and then replied, “That’s an absurd statement.” He proceeded to explain how Democrats’ proposed changes to the clean continuing resolution would, in fact, allow illegal aliens back on the healthcare dole. I gave a more detailed explanation yesterday while reviewing the hilarious sombrero memes.
In any case, Stephanopoulos was antagonistic — which is his right as a journalist — for the entire interview. He was completely different, however, when it came time to talk to Hakeem Jeffries. He tossed softballs without offering a single challenge in response. He closed by worrying that “Democrats will get blamed for the shutdown and the unity’s going to erode.”
Now, back to those cracks.
Jake Tapper, who spent four years covering for Joe Biden’s cognitive decline before cashing in to write a book about how everyone else covered it up, was not nearly as kind to Jeffries as Stephanopoulos was. Granted, he began by agreeing with Jeffries that “it’s a lie” for Republicans to say that Democrats “want to give health insurance to undocumented immigrants.” But he also acknowledged that Democrats are playing semantics games, and that, actually, Republicans have a point.
What you support does bring back funding for emergency Medicaid to hospitals, some of which does pay for undocumented immigrants and people who don’t have health insurance. And also, there is this provision, and it’s not about undocumented immigrants. It’s about people with asylum seekers and people with temporary protected status, et cetera, et cetera, but about their ability to get Medicaid. So they’re noncitizens. They’re not undocumented. They’re not illegal. Why even include that in a bill, knowing that they’re going to seize right upon that and use that to message?
That’s typical weaselly language to put the ultimate blame on the GOP for the fact that Democrats changed the legal status of aliens in order to give them benefits, but still. It wasn’t a softball, and he didn’t let Jeffries get away with dodging the question, asking, “Do you not think that the provisions that provide healthcare for noncitizens muddies that message?”
CBS host Tony Dokoupil attempted to ask Senator Elizabeth Warren roughly the same question, but Warren steamrolled him in response. To his credit, he stuck to the question about “a restoration of Medicaid benefits for certain noncitizens,” though: “Why put it in there? Why is it worth it?”
On Wednesday, Politico ran an article by Adam Wren reporting on the Democrats’ pathetic attempt to livestream the shutdown, as well as “other cringe moments” in their marathon. Wren could hardly believe how lame the Democrats were in their efforts, and he found it equally disastrous how few Americans tuned in to that livestream — often just over a hundred people.
Another Politico reporter, Rachael Bade, posted a rhetorical bomb on X: “DEMOCRATS shut the government down. Not Republicans. Small technicality, I know. (Facts are funny things!)” Left-wingers in the comments went insane.
Fox News isn’t left-wing, of course, but it probably wins the award for the funniest challenge to a Democrat this week.
Senator Jeanne Shaheen falsely asserted, “I haven’t heard anybody in my party saying that illegal immigrants should get access to the health insurance marketplace.”
“I’m so glad you said that,” replied Fox’s Lawrence Jones. “Actually, I have some tape…” And then he proceeded to roll the tape from a 2019 Democrat presidential debate in which every single candidate on stage, including Joe Biden, raised their hands when asked if their healthcare plan included coverage for illegals.
Democrat Sen. Jeanne Shaheen: I haven’t heard anybody in my party saying illegals should get taxpayer-funded health care!
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) October 2, 2025
ROLLS THE TAPE
Fox: “That’s literally every member of your party from moderate to more progressive…” pic.twitter.com/ziu6pMhLKO
Devastating.
The truth is that Democrats offer all sorts of incentives for illegal aliens, including health coverage by whatever magic wand-waving is necessary to make them eligible. Then they deny that’s what they’re doing when confronted with the fact that such policies aren’t terribly popular with Americans.
While Democrats conspire to pass out “free” goodies to illegals, we all remember how they fined every American who didn’t buy health insurance and then patted themselves on the back for their “compassion.”
