Democrats' Shutdown Livestream Draws Few Viewers Amid Government Funding Standoff

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries hosted an 11-hour livestream to rally support against the government shutdown, but the event drew only a small audience, with YouTube viewership peaking around 1,000 and often dropping to just a few dozen viewers. The Democrats' livestream was significantly outperformed by a White House stream that peaked at over 100,000 views, as well as a separate Senate Democrats stream led by Bernie Sanders, which attracted over 90,000 live viewers. Despite efforts to boost engagement by involving progressive influencers and additional streams on the platform X, the Democrats struggled to capture broad attention, leading to criticism and mockery from Republican leaders and President Donald Trump. Trump used social media to mock liberal leaders during the shutdown, reinforcing the Republican refusal to concede to Democrat demands. Vice President JD Vance and Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt publicly blamed Democrats for the shutdown, specifically citing their rejection of a short-term funding plan. The shutdown extended into a second day with both parties blaming each other, and no resolution reached in the Senate.