House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries accused White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Friday of being “demented” and “ignorant” after she criticized the Democratic Party’s “main constituency.”
Democrats have raged at Leavitt for stating on Thursday that the Democratic Party is made up of “Hamas terrorists, illegal aliens and violent criminals” as she criticized them for keeping the government shut down. Jeffries also told reporters that Leavitt was a “stone-cold liar” and shifted blame toward Republicans and the White House for the shutdown.
“And then you’ve got Karoline Leavitt, who’s sick. She’s out of control,” Jeffries said. “And I’m not sure whether she’s just demented or ignorant, stone-cold liar or all of the above. But the notion that an official White House spokesperson would say that the Democratic Party consists of terrorists, violent criminals and undocumented immigrants. This makes no sense that this is what the American people are getting from the Trump administration in the middle of a shutdown. So their actions continue to speak for themselves which is why they’re on the wrong side of public sentiment.”
WATCH:
Almost all of the Democrats voted to shut the government down on Oct. 1 after the Republicans attempted to pass a continuing resolution (CR) that did not include an extension of Biden-era subsidies in the Affordable Care Act. Democratic Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman, Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada and independent Maine Sen. Angus King, who caucuses with Democrats, voted to keep the government open.
Democrats had previously voted for the same CR in past sessions. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who voted for the shutdown, previously said in September 2024 that a shutdown would make the average American “suffer most,” including those on Social Security.
President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance said that Schumer voted to shut the government down because he is afraid of Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez launching a primary challenge against him. Ocasio-Cortez and Independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders lashed out at CNN’s Kaitlan Collins during a Wednesday town hall for asking if Ocasio-Cortez is considering running for his seat.
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