House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries pinpointed the “strangest” moment during a White House meeting with Donald Trump that failed to avert a government shutdown.
Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer met Trump in the Oval Office on Monday along with their Republican counterparts, House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, and Vice President JD Vance.
Photos the president posted on Truth Social on Tuesday showed two red “TRUMP 2028″ caps sitting on Trump’s desk, as though earmarked for the two Democratic leaders.
Speaking on CNN’s NewsNight With Abby Phillip on Tuesday, Jeffries explained that Trump did not attempt to hand himself or Schumer a TRUMP 2028 cap.
“They just randomly appeared in the middle of the meeting on the desk,” Jeffries said. “It was the strangest thing ever. And I just looked at the hat, looked at JD Vance, who was seated to my left, and said, ‘Don‘t you got a problem with this?’ And he said, ‘No comment.’ And that was the end of it.”
Jeffries also discussed Trump posting “racist” videos on his Truth Social platform in which the House minority leader is wearing an AI-generated sombrero and sporting a mustache.
Trump posted the first AI video of Jeffries, in a sombrero, with Schumer on Monday as they stood outside the White House after their meeting.
Then on Tuesday, after Jeffries called that initial video “disgusting” during an interview with MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell, the 79-year-old posted another AI clip, this time with multiple versions of Trump as the members of a mariachi band playing behind Jeffries, once again in sombrero and mustache.
As the music plays, Jeffries can be heard telling O’Donnell, “Bigotry will get you nowhere.”
“He‘s an unserious individual,” Jeffries said of Trump. “The Republicans are unserious at this point. They have no interest in having a good faith conversation, and all of the erratic, unhinged behavior that we‘ve seen subsequent to that White House meeting should suggest to the American people who actually is trying to drive us toward a government shutdown.”
Speaking to CNN hours ahead of the government shutting down, Jeffries said Trump’s behavior made it difficult to hammer out a deal on spending.
Phillip suggested the Oval Office meeting only led to trolling by Trump.
“We just don‘t have serious negotiating partners right now,” Jeffries said. “On the other side of the aisle, because they‘re engaging in this erratic behavior, posting racist, fake AI videos. It speaks for itself in terms of the American people concluding who’s serious and who’s deadly unserious.”
Bigotry will get you nowhere. Cancel the Cuts. Lower the Cost. Save Healthcare. We are NOT backing down. pic.twitter.com/D0xyFiIGkC
— Hakeem Jeffries (@RepJeffries) September 30, 2025
Johnson was caught on camera telling a Democratic congresswoman that Trump’s AI video was “not my style,” in footage posted on X by CNN’s Manu Raju on Tuesday.
Rep. Madeleine Dean of Pennsylvania replied: “Not your style? It’s disgraceful. It’s racist. You should call it out.”
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