U.S. Sen. Angus King routinely polls as Maine’s most popular politician, in part for his pointed criticism of both Trump administrations.

But this week Maine’s junior senator is getting pushback from Democrats for helping end the longest shutdown of the federal government in history — a move that prompted protests in his hometown of Brunswick on Tuesday and in Waterville on Wednesday.

It’s an unusual position for King. A June poll conducted by Pan Atlantic Research showed 65% of Mainers have a very or somewhat favorable view of him.

“It makes sense that members of the Democratic base and members of Sen. King’s base, which are not all Democrats, are frustrated and upset with him,” said Ron Schmidt, a political science professor at the University of Southern Maine. “At the end of the day, the Democrats went into the shutdown asking for a very specific ‘get’ that they didn’t get.”

King, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, had been scheduled to participate in Colby College’s “In the News” series by video from Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, but the event was postponed. A college spokesperson would not say why or by whom.

The postponement came as two dozen people gathered at the Elm Plaza in Waterville to protest King’s role in ending the shutdown that began on Oct. 1. The event was timed to take place ahead of his virtual appearance.

Blanketed in knitted hats and gloves, members of the group waved signs at passing vehicles on Kennedy Memorial Drive. One sign read: “Angus King capitulated. Damn coward.” Another just said, “shame.”

Nick Serritella, 68, of Sanford, said he was “outraged” by King’s vote and felt compelled to make the drive up north.

Elayne Richard, 72, of Fairfield, said King lost her support.

“He did this because it was safe for him to do it, he is not up for reelection,” she said. “And I think that makes him a real coward.”

KING: ‘WE WERE PLAYING WITH FIRE’

Although he has generally been cheered by Democrats since Trump returned to office for using his knowledge of history and speaking skills to blast the Trump administration’s attacks on the Constitution, King has also faced some criticism.

In July, he voted to confirm an antiabortion judge, a vote he later said was a mistake. And two years ago, student protesters stopped in front of his house to urge support for a ceasefire between Israel and Palestinians.

Many Democrats are criticizing seven of their own and King for agreeing to end the shutdown without securing any of their stated goals, including extending enhanced subsidies under the Affordable Care Act or reining in the administration’s ability to rescind funding approved by Congress.

At least two of the senators are retiring and the others, including King, won’t have to face voters again for years — if at all.

One defector, Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Virginia, said other Senate Democrats privately cheered their decision to end the shutdown.

“I can tell you this, there were a lot more than eight that were really happy that the eight of us voted … the way we did,” Kaine told a CNBC reporter.

King has opposed using shutdowns to score policy wins and has voted in support of the Republican stopgap spending measure. But King also played a central role in the shutdown talks, hosting several meetings in his Capitol Hill hideaway as the compromise came together.

In explaining his position, King touted a commitment from Sen. John Thune, the Republican majority leader from South Dakota, to hold a floor vote on expanding the ACA subsidies — something critics argue is an empty gesture, since the bill would also need to be approved in the House and be signed by Trump.

King reiterated that position in an interview with the Press Herald late Wednesday. He said Democrats had no viable plan to end the shutdown and the longer it lasted, the more likely Republicans would have been to give in to Trump’s demands to end the filibuster, which could have far-reaching consequences in areas like abortion and voting rights.

“We were playing with fire,” King said. “I understand that people are mad. They want to fight Trump and I fully get that. … This just wasn’t the right place to fight the battle because we weren’t going to gain anything and we were hurting our people.”

The 81-year-old senator was featured Monday night on “The Daily Show,” a satirical cable news show. Host Jon Stewart was in the middle of a tirade against the Democrats and included a clip of King answering a question about ending the shutdown without winning their primary policy demand.

“Because it wasn’t working,” King replied.

After cracking an age-related joke, an exasperated Stewart pushed back against that assertion, claiming that the shutdown showed an undeniable contrast with Trump, who was hosting extravagant parties at Mar-a-Lago and asking the U.S. Supreme Court to deny food stamps during the shutdown.

“Never has the gap between this administration and the people it claims to serve been so disgustingly visible than during this shutdown,” Stewart said. “(Democrats) squandered their leverage, sapped their voters’ enthusiasm and snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.”

LONG-TERM CONSEQUENCES UNLIKELY

King acknowledged that Democrats performed well in the elections last week, but it didn’t get them any closer to their policy goals. If Republicans oppose extending the ACA subsidies, then voters will be able to hold them accountable.

The deal ending the shutdown secures food assistance throughout the next fiscal year and reverses and ensures back pay for federal workers laid off by Trump during the shutdown, King said.

However, Schmidt, the USM political science professor, said that the Democratic euphoria from last week’s elections may give the party new hope, but it doesn’t change the way Congress works. And right now, Republicans control both chambers and the White House.

“At the end of the day being the minority party in both chambers when the other party controls the White House leaves you very little options in our system,” he said.

Some Democrats, however, remain frustrated with King.

Dana Bateman, a 51-year-old artist and retail worker, joined friends and neighbors in Brunswick on Tuesday at a last-minute protest against King’s decision. She was heartened that more than two dozen people showed up and stood in the cold rain and snow to express their frustrations.

“Sen. King is not facing a reelection,” Bateman said. “I am looking for him to go big or go home on this subject of health care. He could leave it all on the field and he’s not doing that. Instead he’s negotiating with the Trump administration, which I do not see as a reasonable or rational negotiating partner.”

Frustrations were also on display in Waterville, where Indivisible Mid Maine, which is part of a larger progressive activist network, organized the protest ahead of the Colby College event featuring King.

Schmidt, however, doesn’t see the rift as having any long-term consequences for King.

“I think the fact that people are protesting King’s vote means people are paying attention and there’s a lot of engagement with the issues that are going on,” Schmidt said. “I think before too long, knowing the administration, President Trump will give that Democratic base something more substantive to be angry about than agreeing to work with the GOP on ending the shutdown.”

Staff Writer Hannah Kaufman contributed to this story.