‘Cost $11 billion’: America blames Trump for the shutdown while Trump blames literally anyone but himself

The citizens of the United States do not speak the language of their supreme leader, President Donald Trump or the Republicans supporting his government. The same was proved once again after the U.S. government went into shutdown due to the Democrats and Republicans failing to reach a consensus on a healthcare funding bill. While the Republicans continued mud-slinging, shifting blame to the Democrats for the cessation of the government, people residing in the U.S. were proving that they know better.

In a recently released survey conducted by the Washington Post on October 1, 2025, almost half of the people (47 per cent) believe that Trump and the Republicans are to blame for the government shutdown. On the other hand, 30 per cent of the voters opined that the Democrats are responsible for the circumstances. 23 per cent of the voters said they are unsure about who was to blame for it. 

In another survey conducted by the New York Times over five days, leading up to the government shutdown, 33 per cent of voters indicated that they would hold both parties responsible. When asked to assign blame, however, 26 per cent said they would hold Trump and the Republicans accountable, while 19 per cent attributed the responsibility to the Democrats. 21 per cent of the people said that they did not possess enough information about the government shutdown to comment on it.

Unlike the survey conducted by the Washington Post, the margins in the New York Times survey are narrower. However, it is important to recognise that this is Donald Trump’s second term as President, and during his first and second terms combined, there have been at least three government shutdowns, the most for a U.S President. The first shutdown occurred in 2018-2019 during Trump’s first term and was the longest in history. It lasted a whopping 35 days and cost the administration approximately $11 billion. How many days will this one last, and how much will it cost? If Trump believes in breaking records, then this is definitely not it.

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Sanchari Ghosh

Sanchari Ghosh is a political writer for The Mary Sue who enjoys keeping up with what's going on in the world and sometimes reminding everyone what they should be talking about. She's been around for a few years, but still gets excited whenever she disentangles a complicated story. When she's not writing, she's likely sleeping, eating, daydreaming, or just hanging out with friends. Politics is her passion, but so is an amazing nap.