Sen. Adam Schiff: I'm not fond of Trump but am 'willing to work with anyone'

David Lightman, McClatchy Washington Bureau on Dec 10, 2025

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WASHINGTON — Sen. Adam Schiff gave his first major speech in the Senate on Wednesday and recalled how he has had to endure bitter criticism from President Donald Trump and his allies, but remains hopeful about the country’s future.

“Sometimes I have to break through the caricatures of right-wing media, and that can be a challenge,” the California Democrat said.

But he recalled how he could upset expectations. “I know, for example, that I was making progress when a farmer in conservative Butte County told me, ‘I don’t know why the president calls you watermelon head.’ ”

“You have a perfect normal-sized head,” the farmer said.

“And that comes from a farmer who knows a thing or two about melons,” Schiff said. Trump has hurled several insults at Schiff, including calling him a watermelon head.

Schiff’s first year

Schiff’s 22-minute speech was a mixture of fond and worrisome remembrances of his first year as a U.S. senator and a message of hope.

Schiff has been a favorite target of Trump for years. As a U.S. House member, Schiff led the 2020 impeachment of the president, and Trump has fired back by calling Schiff different insulting names.

The Justice Department has been looking at Trump-inspired allegations that Schiff was engaged in mortgage fraud, allegations Schiff has vehemently denied.

Wednesday was a day for comity.

“I am a proud Democrat. I’m also willing to work with anyone to advance (bipartisan) efforts,” Schiff said, “including that guy at the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue who doesn’t care for me very much.

“And who I’m not particularly fond of either,” Schiff said. “Because life is too short, the problems are too great not to seize every opportunity to make progress.”

Housing and hope

He mentioned the need for more affordable housing, lamenting that the nation’s optimism has faded as people find affordability a recurring, frustrating problem.

“Is it any wonder that so many Americans believe the system no longer works for them?” he asked. “That hard work is no longer a guarantee of a good life, that sense for the first time in our history and for millions of Americans, that their parents’ life was better, that their children’s future is in doubt.”

Such fears, Schiff said, are “a powerful and destabilizing force, because when our economy stops working, our democracy stops working.”

He ended on a high note, at times getting so emotional he had to pause.

He vowed to fight for a country “where government is accountable and responsible to people, and yes, where right and truth and decency matter.

“It’s the country my parents believed in, one that brought our family to California. And it’s the America I still believe in.”

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