There are rare moments when even the mainstream media can’t carry water fast enough for the Democrats—and Sunday’s episode of Face the Nation was one of them. CBS host Margaret Brennan, who’s had more than her fair share of cringe-worthy interviews trying to corner Trump officials (only to get cleanly dismantled by the likes of Secretary of State Marco Rubio and others), finally managed to put a Democrat on the defensive. And it was a sight to see.
Her guest? Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut—one of the party’s most reliably partisan voices and someone who never misses a chance to toe the leftist line. But this time, Brennan didn’t let him off easy. She did what the press should do more often: hold politicians accountable for their own words.
And she had the receipts.
In a particularly brutal moment, Brennan replayed Murphy’s own comments from 2018, when Democrats themselves triggered a government shutdown over border security funding. “The future of the American public healthcare system was a legitimate public policy issue,” Murphy said then. “But we shouldn’t be having the discussion amidst a government shutdown, and trying to use our nation’s security and all of these federal workers and the work that they do as hostages!”
It was a perfect setup. Brennan turned to Murphy and simply asked, “Aren’t you doing today exactly what you were criticizing then?”
Checkmate.
WOW! Democrats failed so miserably on the government shutdown even CBS is BRUTALLY calling them out now
BRENNAN: You’ve been critical of shutting down the government! 2018 and 2013. Here’s what you said in 2018.
SEN. MURPHY (D): “We shouldn’t be having the discussion amidst… pic.twitter.com/qgvoYghcPU
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) October 12, 2025
Murphy scrambled. His response? A weak appeal to an undefined “emergency,” and vague claims that “democracy” is somehow in danger because healthcare subsidies might lapse. No coherent explanation. No defense of the shutdown. No attempt to explain why Democrats suddenly believe using shutdowns as leverage is noble now, but disgraceful in 2018.
Then Brennan doubled down, hitting the nerve the Democrats really didn’t want exposed—Chuck Schumer’s smirking, tone-deaf admission to Punchbowl News that “every day this goes on, every day gets better for us.” It’s a stunning quote: Schumer acknowledging that the pain of a shutdown benefits Democrats politically. Brennan asked Murphy about that, noting the Speaker of the House called it a “callous statement.”
Murphy’s response? Accuse Republicans of “spin.” But quoting your own party leader verbatim isn’t spin—it’s fact. And the fact is, Democrats are playing hardball politics with government services and working-class lives to push through their failed agenda. Healthcare for illegal immigrants didn’t survive the normal legislative process, so now they’re using a shutdown as a pressure point to jam it through the back door.
The Democrats lost this fight the right way—through votes. Now they’re trying to win it the wrong way—through hostage tactics. And for once, even legacy media couldn’t quite spin their way out of it.
