Fox News host Will Cain didn’t hold back on Monday when he confronted House Speaker Mike Johnson about an uncomfortable reality: most Americans are blaming Republicans for the ongoing government shutdown.
Cain began by saying it was a “good idea to shine a spotlight” on SNAP, the federal food benefit program that he claimed is “not living up to its expectations.” But he quickly turned to politics. “It’s become a political football,” he said, pointing out that an NBC poll found 52 percent of Americans blame congressional Republicans and Donald Trump for the shutdown, compared to 42 percent who blame Democrats.
Looking across the table, Cain asked the question directly in the clip: “Why would the polls look like that when you were clearly voting to continue to fund the government, Democrats are not voting to continue to fund the government?”
Johnson didn’t flinch. “For one thing, the polls are all over the place,” he said. “CNN was reporting just on Friday of last week that Republicans were winning this, as if it was some sort of political game. The only people who lose here are the American people.”
The Speaker then went on the offensive, accusing the media of pushing a false narrative. “The entire media establishment is parroting the talking points of the Democrats every day,” Johnson said. “It’s the most staggering level of gaslighting we have ever seen in American politics. Literally, the Democrats have voted 14 times to close the government down, where Republicans have voted 14 times to open it.”
He added that after every vote, Democrats “find the nearest television camera, look right into the lens, and say it’s the Republicans’ fault. It’s just madness. It’s absolutely the opposite of the truth.”
Still, the numbers don’t look great for the GOP. Several national polls have shown that most voters think Republicans and Trump are more responsible for the shutdown than Democrats. A recent Washington Post and ABC survey found that nearly half of Americans hold the GOP accountable, while about a third blame Democrats. Another NBC poll echoed the same results, reinforcing Cain’s question about public perception.
Meanwhile, the human impact of the shutdown keeps growing. SNAP benefits — which help about 42 million Americans afford groceries are caught in the crossfire, with uncertainty about whether funding will continue. Airports are experiencing long delays, hundreds of thousands of federal workers are missing paychecks, and the economic fallout could cost billions each week the shutdown drags on.
Republicans argue they’ve already passed a clean resolution to keep the government funded, accusing Democrats of refusing to cooperate. Democrats, on the other hand, say the GOP is holding critical programs hostage while prioritizing partisan politics. The blame game has now spilled into every corner of Washington and onto TV screens across America.
Cain’s on-air challenge captured what many voters are feeling: frustration and confusion over who’s really at fault. Johnson’s answer, that the media is to blame, might satisfy his base, but for millions of Americans dealing with missed paychecks, delayed assistance, and frozen benefits, patience is wearing thin.
If the shutdown continues into the holiday season, both parties will face growing pressure to make a deal. But for now, it’s clear that the political standoff isn’t just hurting reputations in Washington, it’s hitting kitchen tables across the country.
