Despite early hopes for a good relationship between Republican President Donald Trump and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., the two have not even spoken since three days after Trump's inauguration, and their relationship is anything but collegial, Politico reported.
"Right now there's not much to talk about, okay?" Schumer told Politico.
"Schumer's name has not come up," a top White House official told the website. "He really hasn't mentioned him in a long time. That's really telling in and of itself."
Trump reportedly told Schumer in a leaked phone call late last year he liked his fellow New Yorker better than Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., or House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., because both Republicans had opposed his presidency.
But their relationship soured in January after Schumer attacked Trump's plan to repeal and replace Obamacare with the label "Make America Sick Again." Trump responded by calling Schumer the Democrats' "head clown."
Since then, the first attempt at a GOP healthcare plan has gone down in defeat after Trump made no attempt to work with Democrats on the deeply partisan issue. Instead, some speculate, Trump should have worked on his infrastructure plan first, which has support from Schumer and other Democrats.
"This is not Monday morning quarterbacking, but if they had maybe led off with the infrastructure bill," said Rep. Pete King, R-N.Y.
"It's not complicated," former Schumer adviser Phil Singer told Politico. "Trump has pursued an agenda that is antithetical to everything Schumer and the Democrats have worked on for years."
But Trump might be taking a different tack, mentioning Schumer in remarks at the White House on Tuesday night where senators from both parties were present for an event.
Discussing his future agenda, Trump said, "Hopefully, it will start being bipartisan because everybody really wants the same thing. We want greatness for this country that we love. So, I think we are going to have some very good relationships. Right, Chuck? Hello, Chuck."
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