LEADER JEFFRIES ON MORNING JOE: "YOU DESERVE BETTER THAN THE COUNTRY THAT DONALD TRUMP HAS DELIVERED"
Today, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries appeared on MSNBC's Morning Joe, where he emphasized that in yesterday’s elections, the American people made clear that they are sick of the Republican agenda that is keeping the government shut down and rising healthcare costs, and Democrats are demanding action now to reopen the government and lower the high cost of living.
MIKA BRZEZINSKI: Joining us now, House Minority Leader, Democratic Congressman Hakeem Jeffries of New York. Thank you so much, Congressman, for being on the show this morning. Define what happened last night.
LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, good morning. It was a big night for the American people, and what we saw is that Democratic candidates prevailed up and down the ballot all across the country, focused on affordability, focused on making life more affordable for everyday Americans, driving down the high cost of living, protecting healthcare and, of course, moving this country back to a better place and making America the best version of herself, as opposed to the extremism that we've seen unleashed on everyday Americans by Donald Trump and compliant Republicans from the very beginning of his presidency.
WILLIE GEIST: Leader Jeffries, good morning. We've had you on the show and many Democrats on the show over the last year, let's call it, after Donald Trump returned to office wondering about what Democrats' message should be. How they got in this place? How did Donald Trump win again? We saw it play out yesterday and understanding that the message in every state, in every race and city is a little bit different, but as you wake up this morning with these sweeping winds really across the country, what is now the Democratic message going forward to the midterms a year from now?
LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, our message to the American people as House Democrats, and I think we've seen that also across the country, is you deserve better than the country that Donald Trump has delivered. He promised to lower the high cost of living on day one. Costs aren't going down, they're going up. Grocery costs through the roof. Housing costs out of control. Child care costs, of course, out of control. Electricity bills through the roof. And now, over this Donald Trump-Republican shutdown we've seen, the longest now in American history, they refuse to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits, risking tens of millions of Americans experiencing dramatically increased premiums, co-pays and deductibles. In some instances, healthcare costs will increase by $1,000 or $2,000 per month on working-class Americans. Democrats are making clear we want to lower the high cost of living. We want to fix our broken healthcare system. And we want to clean up corruption to make America the best version of herself, as opposed to what we're seeing from this administration, which is the largest pay-to-play scheme in the history of the world, where they are enriching themselves, their friends and their family members.
JONATHAN LEMIRE: So, Leader Jeffries, much has been made of the big tent last night, in what was a very successful Democratic evening. And smaller races like Pennsylvania and Georgia, but the three primary ones, where you have moderates in New Jersey and Virginia, and obviously a self-proclaimed Democratic Socialist in New York City. What lessons can you glean from that as you look to issues and candidates for next year?
LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, Abigail focused relentlessly on affordability and driving down the high cost of living in Virginia. Mikie Sherrill, of course, focused relentlessly on affordability and dealing with some of the escalating prices that have been experienced in New Jersey. And, of course, Zohran has focused relentlessnessly on affordability. That's the connective tissue that we've seen all across the country.
WILLIE GEIST: So Leader Jeffries in the midst of all this and probably factoring in, especially in the state of Virginia, is this government shutdown, now officially the longest in our history, 36 days. There's been some talk, but we've heard this before, about behind-the-scenes negotiations, that now the two sides perhaps are willing to come to the table and get people back to work. Get SNAP benefits back into people's hands. What is the state of the negotiation over this shutdown?
LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, our position as Democrats remains clear. We need to reopen the government. We want to find a bipartisan path forward to enact a spending agreement that actually makes life better for the American people, including dealing with the fact that America is too expensive right now. And we have to also decisively address the Republican healthcare crisis. We've repeatedly maintained as Democrats that we will sit down with anyone, anytime, anyplace, either on Capitol Hill or back at the White House, in order to do what is necessary to end this Trump-Republican shutdown. But unfortunately, Republicans have continued to take a my-way-or-the-highway approach. That's what they did in their One Big Ugly Bill. Largest cut to Medicaid in American history. Ripped food out of the mouths of children, seniors and veterans, with a $186 billion cut to SNAP. They did that in July, and all of this was done so they can reward their billionaire donors with massive tax breaks. The American people are rejecting that level of extremism. And it's certainly our hope that Republicans will see the need to change course, sit down with us as Democrats and we can find our way out of this unfortunately very painful shutdown that the American people have been experiencing.
MIKA BRZEZINSKI: House Minority Leader, Democratic Congressman Hakeem Jeffries of New York. Thank you very much for being on the show this morning.
Full interview can be watched here.