Hakeem Jeffries doubles down on 'maximum warfare' rhetoric, tells critics 'I don't give a damn'
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., doubled down on his inflammatory rhetoric toward Republicans during a fiery news conference Monday, telling critics, "I don’t give a damn.""I stand by it,"...
By Fox News · Fox News
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., doubled down on his inflammatory rhetoric toward Republicans during a fiery news conference Monday, telling critics, "I don’t give a damn." "I stand by it," Jeffries told reporters, when asked about his vow last week to unleash "maximum warfare" on the GOP to counter the party’s redistricting efforts ahead of November’s midterm elections. "You can continue to criticize me for it. I don't give a damn about your criticism." Jeffries' messaging sparked backlash from Republicans following the third apparent assassination attempt on President Donald Trump's life at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner Saturday. The top Democrat defended his choice of words by pointing to a report from The New York Times last year in which an anonymous White House staffer used the same phrase to threaten Democrats. HAKEEM JEFFRIES' CALL TO FIGHT TRUMP AGENDA ‘IN THE STREETS’ SPARKS BACKLASH AS A 'MAXINE WATERS MOMENT' "That phrase ‘maximum warfare everywhere, all the time’ came from the White House in the summer of 2025, when they started this redistricting battle, and now they're big mad," Jeffries continued. "Why? Because Democrats have decided to finish it. Get lost." The top Democrat insisted that he denounced political violence in all of its forms. Jeffries also had harsh words for White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, who he labeled a "disgrace" and a "stone-cold liar" after she criticized Democrats' rhetoric that frequently labels Trump as an existential threat. "This so-called White House press secretary wants to lecture America and lecture us about civility. Get lost," Jeffries said. "Clean up your own house before you have anything to say to us about the language that we use." DEM LEADER CONDEMNS THANKSGIVING BOMB THREATS AGAINST LIBERAL LAWMAKERS AFTER TEAM TRUMP TARGETED Leavitt hammered top Democrats’ embrace of hostile messaging toward Trump during a news conference Monday. "This hateful, constant and viol…