Schumer tells AP Democrats are preparing to disrupt and dispute Trump in midterms: Q&A

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer says he expects Republican President Donald Trump to try to interfere in the midterm elections, and he says raids by immigration agents in major cities are creating a sense of chaos that voters will reject in November.

The comments were part of a 20-minute Associated Press telephone interview with the New York Democrat, who argued that former Alaska Rep. Mary Peltola’s entry into the Senate race gives her party a majority.

Schumer said economic concerns are beginning to cement themselves in the minds of voters and Democrats plan to build their campaign around the costs, chaos and corruption attributed to the Trump administration.

The White House has called such Democratic statements “scary” to score political points.

This is an edited transcript of the interview.

Expect Trump to intervene

Q: Some are predicting that Trump will try to block open and fair midterm elections, and the results are expected to be contested. Do you share those concerns?

A: We share them, and we already have teams of both senators and lawyers looking at all the ways that Trump can try to screw things up, and we’re fighting against that. We already have a team to make sure they count the votes fairly. And, remember, still, most election systems are run by states. And even in red states, there is resistance to Trump’s intervention.

Trump will do whatever it takes, and he has no respect and credibility and no respect for the law. But, we are ready for it, and we believe that we will succeed.

The impact of ICE raids on the election

Q: What impact do you think the Immigration and Customs Enforcement crackdown has had early on in the midterms?

A: People don’t like chaos. They see that cities and mayors who were perfectly calm and safe are now going through all this chaos. And, you know, I said, cost is number one. But it is expense, corruption and chaos. People don’t like it. And Trump, at the same time he’s saying he wants to protect protesters in Iran, he’s going after protesters and other innocent civilians in Minneapolis. People have no sense.

Trump and the economy

Q: Do you think the economic factors that upset many of the voting public in this election year are sustainable?

A: Absolutely. The number one thing that worries American families is that they can’t pay all the bills.

Cost is the number one issue. Cost of living, affordability, call it what you will. But this is the number one issue, and now they understand that Trump is cheating them on all of this.

In health care, by not increasing the ACA tax credit, in energy, getting rid of clean energy, wind and solar, by raising tariffs on their electricity bills, which has raised the price of everything. So, now people feel that Trump is hurting them.

We are going to focus on five issues in terms of reducing the cost to the public. They are health care, housing, tariffs — you know, the cost of goods — food prices, the cause of food monopolies, and child care.

Trump and the Republicans are in a bubble, and they don’t realize it. They’re ignoring it, and that’s why things just keep getting better and better for us.

Medieval Congress Environment

Q: If we’re looking at 25 to 30 seats changing hands in the House, is there a direct correlation to what might happen in the Senate?

A: Look, at the beginning of (last) year, people said, “Well, there’s a chance to win the House and not a chance to win the Senate.” But because of the issues that I’ve talked about and because the House and the Senate are so much in sync on those issues and that resonates with the American people about how we’re on their side, I think the difference between the odds of winning the House and the odds of winning the Senate has narrowed a lot.

Q: Even at this moment, early in the midterm year, do you agree that the Democrats have a narrow path back to the Senate majority?

A: I would say it’s a much wider path than the skeptics thought, and it’s a much wider path than three months ago and certainly a year ago. And it gets better and better, and we think we have a good chance of winning back the Senate.

Young, non-white Trump voters

Q: Young and non-white voters swung toward Trump in the last election, you know. What are your plans, and what will it take for the Democrats to win them?

A: The cost issue has already had an impact. Look at the 2025 election. How (Democrat Abigail) Spanberger won Virginia by 15 points and (Democrat Mickey) Sherrill won by 13 points (in the 2025 governor’s race). But it wasn’t just those two states. We won the election in Georgia. We won elections across the country. And it’s because voters, young and old, poor and middle class, don’t think Trump is serving them well. So, the whole thing about Trump has changed.

And in large part, we helped it happen by focusing on costs.

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Beaumont reported from Des Moines, Iowa.