President Trump and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) have more in common than meets the eye. Though the two men may now be seated firmly on opposite sides of the aisle, Time noted in a profile of the New York senator published Thursday that both Trump and Schumer grew up in New York City, share an "obsession with the news," love "big and bold" words like "beautiful" and "wonderful," and have a history of doing each other favors.
Despite butting heads over the years, Trump has been a "regular donor" to Schumer and, Time reported, Trump's family "has given more than $80,000 to Schumer's electoral efforts over the years." In turn, Schumer appeared on Trump's reality TV show The Apprentice in 2006.
The men's similarities and shared pasts might be a sliver of hope for getting things done in a government so divided by politics, Time said:
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If there is any reason to be optimistic about the level of partisanship in Washington, it might be that Schumer and Trump don't think so differently, at least on some issues. "I'm closer to Trump's views on trade than I am to Obama's or Bush's," says Schumer, who opposed both NAFTA and the Trans-Pacific Partnership. China, he adds, is a particularly bad actor on trade matters, and Schumer has called on Trump to name China a "currency manipulator" and work harder to guard against theft of intellectual property. Schumer says he was "sort of glad" when Trump caused a mini-diplomatic crisis by accepting a phone call from Taiwan's president, angering Beijing. "With other nations, free trade may hurt us, but China is rapacious." Adds Schumer: "I love America. I want America to be No. 1." [Time]
Now, the trick for Schumer is figuring out a way to use those similarities to his advantage — without alienating the Democrats depending on him to push back against the president. Head to Time for the full story on Schumer and his history of dealing with Trump.
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