MLB Star Criticizes Democrats Amid Ongoing Government Shutdown

As the government shutdown stretches into its third week, Mark Teixeira, a former MLB player and current congressional candidate for Texas’ 21st District, is voicing his concerns about the Democrats in Washington. He claims that the current situation reflects poorly on the party’s approach.

Teixeira, who launched his campaign back in August, argues that the “craziness” from the left has set a “terrible precedent.” He believes the Democrats are failing to fulfill their responsibilities and, instead of negotiating, they are opting for a shutdown.

“Elections have consequences,” Teixeira said in an interview. He highlighted that the losing side in any election doesn’t get to dictate terms entirely. They must recognize that compromises are necessary, even if it doesn’t always go their way.

He added, “Democrats seem to say, ‘No, we can’t accept that.’ So what happens? They shut down the government and now, it’s the American people who suffer.”

Teixeira also mentioned a recent Reuters/Ipsos poll indicating that voters were attributing blame for the shutdown to both Republicans and Democrats, as well as President Trump. However, he expressed skepticism about the reliability of polls and suggested that some criticisms stem from what he referred to as “Trump derangement syndrome.”

The former athlete said that productive negotiations require both sides to come to the table, yet he drew a line at negotiations with what he termed “terrorist” tactics—referring to the notion of shutting down the government to force compliance.

In a somewhat stark conclusion, Teixeira remarked that the Democrats are behaving unreasonably and suggested that President Trump needs all the support he can get to reclaim leadership for the country.