Ted Cruz probably confused the responsibilities. Thousands of people watched Trump taking the responsibility for the shutdown, not Schumer. The group if US citizens who hold Trump responsible for the shutdown is larger than the group who holds the Democrats responsible.
But I agree to Ted Cruz that the shutdown can be related to hostage taking. As Trump took the responsibility for the shutdown and as the Republicans supported him, Trump and the Republicans would have been the hostage takers in Ted Cruz’ view.
=== Ted Cruz relates shut down to hostage taking ===
As Trump himself took the responsibility, Cruz meant: »I am glad the Trump shutdown is over. I am glad federal workers will finally be paid. For weeks, Republicans held their paychecks hostage.«https://t.co/Gy2vSFXYc0— Goetz Kluge (@Bonnetmaker) January 27, 2019