In the absence of any clear standard bearer at the front of the Democratic Party, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has assumed that de facto mantle, but polls show that things are not going particularly well for him.

However, when asked recently about his exceedingly bad poll numbers, Schumer was dismissive of the view that he has become more of a liability than an asset for Democrats, The Hill reported.

Schumer's defensiveness came in response to a new survey, which showed that he has the worst unfavorability rating of all four of the top congressional leaders.

Unpopular Schumer insists he's not a "liability" for the Democratic Party

Sen. Schumer was queried on Tuesday by CNN congressional reporter Manu Raju about the network's latest poll that, among other bad news for Democrats, revealed that the Senate Democratic Leader had just a 17% favorable rating compared to 44% unfavorable, his worst numbers since 2017.

"There’s a poll out today that has your approval rating lower than any other congressional leader at 17 percent," Raju said, per The Hill. "Are you concerned that you may be a liability for your party?"

Schumer replied, "Polls come and go. Our party is united. We’re on our front foot, we’re stepping forward, going after Trump and having real success."

Later that evening, the leading Democratic senator was similarly asked by CNN's Kaitlan Collins if his low approval ratings were "concerning," but he insisted that they were not and proceeded to provide examples of how congressional Democrats were working hard to stymie President Donald Trump's agenda.

"What we are doing is we are showing the contrast between Trump and us -- and the Democrats -- and the American people, day in day out, learn that we are for keeping Medicaid and Social Security, learn that we want to get rid of these horrible tariffs," Schumer said, and added, "We’re fighting every day. What Trump is doing is giving us the opportunity and the necessity to show the contrast between us and the Republicans."

Voters are not thrilled with Democratic leaders like Schumer

Despite Sen. Schumer's rosy outlook on the current Democratic resistance to President Trump, CNN's latest poll suggests that the American people are "frustrated" and angry with all of Washington D.C., but congressional Democrats more so than anybody else.

Only 27% of voters approve of Democratic leaders in Congress, while 72% disapprove, which is worse than the 37% approval and 62% disapproval for Republican congressional leaders.

The poll further showed that Sen. Schumer was the least favorable of the four congressional leaders in the view of American voters, with only 17% holding a favorable opinion of him compared to 44% who view him unfavorably.

Other polls also show most voters view Schumer unfavorably

To be sure, while this new CNN poll looks really bad for Sen. Schumer, it is generally in line with other recent surveys measuring the American public's view of him.

According to RealClearPolling's average, Schumer is underwater by -17.5 points with a favorability rating of 27.9% and an unfavorability rating of 45.4%.

Whether Schumer truly is an asset or a liability for the Democratic Party is up to the party's rank-and-file base and New York voters specifically, but if their views are anywhere close to what the national polls show, the situation appears to be rather dire for the elderly Democratic leader.