House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries pulled no punches in comments about White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt Friday morning.
Leavitt had drawn widespread outcry with an inflammatory claim Thursday that the Democratic Party’s “main constituency” consists of “Hamas terrorists, illegal aliens, and violent criminals.”
Jeffries, in turn, described the press secretary as “sick” and “out of control.”
“I’m not sure whether she’s just demented, ignorant, a stone cold liar, or all of the above,” he told reporters. “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.”
Jeffries: “You’ve got Karoline Leavitt, who’s sick, she’s out of control. And I’m not sure if she’s just demented, ignorant, a stone cold liar, or all of the above. But the notion that an official WH spokesperson would say that the Democratic Party consists of ‘terrorists,… pic.twitter.com/RXqBFlsujY
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 17, 2025
Leavitt’s divisive statement has earned condemnations from other prominent Democrats as well.
Democratic Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut called it both “grossly dark” and “politically dumb,” writing on X, “How do they think Americans will react to being told that anyone who doesn’t support Trump is a terrorist?”
“Most Republicans are good people. Most Democrats are good people. The White House says outrageous things to make you hate your neighbor,” said Tim Walz, the Minnesota governor and previous Democratic nominee for vice president. “Your neighbor isn’t the problem. The White House is.”
Representative Greg Casar of Texas, a progressive Democrat, called on Leavitt to resign. “They try to make us hate each other,” he said, “to distract from the fact that they’re robbing us all blind.”
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