LEADER JEFFRIES ON MSNBC: "EXTREME MAGA REPUBLICANS HAVE LEANED INTO LAWLESSNESS AND DISORDER"
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries joined MSNBC PoliticsNation with Rev. Al Sharpton where he highlighted that House Democrats remain committed to putting People Over Politics while extreme MAGA Republicans lean into lawlessness and disorder.

SHARPTON: Proud to be joined now by the House Minority Leader, Congressman Hakeem Jeffries, Democrat of New York. Mr. Minority Leader. Thank you for joining us ahead of a truly unprecedented week in our history. Donald Trump will face arraignment on 37 felony counts Tuesday in Miami, the first former president in our history to federally be indicted over his retention of classified materials at Mar a Lago. In his social media polls and campaign appearances since the indictment, he's insisted that the target-he's the target of a witch hunt by President Biden to derail his 2024 presidential campaign. Of course, that's to be expected from Trump. But I have to ask you, the top Democrat in the House, for your reaction to the support Trump's received from congressional Republicans even before the indictment has been unsealed. They're going all the way up to the ranks of your colleague, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who went so far last week as to say that the indictment will "disrupt the nation." I've known you for years. You work with National Action Network. I've known you since you were a lawyer. You know the legal gravity of an indictment like this. How can your Republican colleagues stand up and say this when we haven't even heard the charges directly read in court.
JEFFRIES: Well, good afternoon, Rev. It's great to be with you. And it is quite unfortunate. These charges are incredibly serious and relate directly to the safety and security of the American people, which is a president's–a former president's most solemn responsibility. And at least according to the indictment, one that was undermined in severe ways by the former president, who, of course, is innocent until proven guilty. And there will be a process that will formally begin on Tuesday. But to your point, it is very sad and unfortunate that Republican presidential candidates, Republican members of the House of Representatives, Republican members of the Senate, have leaned into the lawlessness and disorder that has become the modern day Republican Party, many of whom sympathize with the violent insurrectionists in the immediate aftermath of the storming of the Capitol and, in fact, voted to affirm the Big Lie that led to the attack on the Capitol. You would think that perhaps some of my colleagues would have learned their lesson and moved away from the type of lawlessness and disorder that does get people hurt, but instead have been fanning the flames in an irresponsible way.
SHARPTON: So that covers was the vocal support for Donald Trump from the congressional GOP. But the New York Times is reporting that the right-wing media has exploded with calls for violence and rebellion with the rhetoric surrounding this indictment reportedly even more extreme than what we saw around Trump's indictment in the Manhattan DA's hush money probe just three months ago. Right now, public officials in Miami and the Secret Service are bracing for possible demonstrations from Trump supporters Tuesday in Miami. As a manager of Trump's first impeachment, having lived through literally the events of January 6th, are you concerned we will see violence from his supporters going into Tuesday, if not after?
JEFFRIES: It's certainly appropriate and important for federal law enforcement officials, in partnership with state and local officials, to take every available precaution to prevent the type of violence that we saw on January 6th because of the extreme rhetoric that is coming from many right-wing ideologues in this country. It's important to understand what is perhaps at the root of what we're seeing in terms of this irresponsible rhetoric. The right wing in this country wants to end Social Security and Medicare as we know it. They want to strip away reproductive freedom. They want to undermine the right to vote and believe that voter suppression is their pathway into maintaining power. They want to cut taxes for the wealthy, the well-off and the well-connected, while at the same time trying to undermine middle class folks, those who aspire to be part of the middle class, the poor, the sick and the afflicted. Their policies are out of step with the American people, and that's why they've been losing elections and underperforming, as they did in the 2022 midterm elections. And so, many of us have long been concerned, Rev., and you've been a leading voice in this regard. That is, right wing folks in this country concluded that they can no longer win elections democratically. It wouldn't abandon conservatism. It abandoned democracy. And what we're seeing from some of these calls to violence coming from some of the more extreme members of the right wing in this country is an abandonment of democracy and that should frighten everyday Americans.
SHARPTON: Let me go to the issue of the Supreme Court of the United States. We saw that this week, they surprisingly voted in favor of those plaintiffs in the case in Alabama, where they came out and said that the redrawing of the map - what Alabama had done - certainly impeded the strength of Black voters in the state and that Black voters should have two, as opposed to one congressional district. But now we've not heard their decision yet on affirmative action, where they can come back with a decision that would not weaken affirmative action - they've already done that - but eliminate race as a factor at all, which would not only undermine, in my judgment, the admissions in the colleges, it could be carried over into the private sector about contracts and about employment and other things. They would totally eradicate race. And a cynical side of me is, did the Chief Justice, Roberts and Kavanaugh, a conservative, go on this one so they can not be called names when they turn- overturn affirmative action. And I think, again, I congratulate them for what they did on the voting case. I congratulate Janai Nelson and Legal Defense Fund and others doing a brilliant job. But I'm concerned about affirmative action. Putting on your lawyer hat as well as legislature- legislative hat, being the top Democrat in the House. How do you see the voting rights decision and what is the weight and concern for you of what we're still waiting on, the affirmative action decision, which may come this week or at last, next week before the session ends.
JEFFRIES: Well, with respect to the Voting Rights Act decision, Dr. King, of course, made the observation that the time is always right to do what is right. And thankfully, five justices in the Supreme Court, including Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Kavanaugh, did what was right, in an obvious case where a map had been racially gerrymandered to undermine the ability of Black voters in Alabama to have an opportunity to elect a second African American Member of Congress or a Congress Member of their choice. By the way, there are also racially gerrymandered maps in Louisiana, in Texas and in Georgia and a flawed map in New York that is in the process of potentially being re-evaluated. When you take all of this together, what it means is that the extreme MAGA Republican majority in the House of Representatives right now is only in the majority because of extremely gerrymandered maps that now are in the process of being dismantled. So, we're thankful that the Supreme Court has done the right thing and now the various legislative bodies are going to have to do the right thing to create lawful constitutional maps and then put it in the hands of the voters. In terms of the potential decision as it relates to affirmative action, these values of diversity, equity and inclusion are important for a fair and an open and a just society in a racially diverse democracy that we have, that, of course, has a very imperfect history in the area of racial justice. And it certainly is our hope that there will be at least five enlightened justices who understand that this principle of diversity and using race as a factor in a multipolar pluralistic society, a very diverse society, is the right thing to do. And as study after study has shown, the more diverse a school, the more diverse a university, the more diverse a company, the more successful that entity happens to be as well.
SHARPTON: I mean, we are helping them help themselves a lot of time. But I must ask you, the Biden White House and Speaker McCarthy were able to hammer out and pass a deal to raise the debt ceiling earlier this month. Of course, some members of the House GOP so-called Freedom Caucus took issue with Speaker McCarthy's role in his passage, which they say didn't go far enough into cuts in the federal spending and mid-way through last week they rebelled against the Speaker. Now joining with House Democrats to tank debate on a pair of McCarthy-backed bills to protect the use of gas stoves. The result is House GOP Leadership canceled votes for the rest of the week. As Minority Leader, who also played a role and I know you've heard that I complained they didn't give you enough credit. So I was jumping up and down Eastern Parkway yelling "Hakeem Hakeem!" But we go back to what I'm talking about.
JEFFRIES: I appreciate it.
SHARPTON: But what does the aftermath– what is the aftermath of the debt deal and what does that tell you about what we can expect from this Congress, at least as long as Republicans retain the majority?
JEFFRIES: Well, this is an extreme group of people and I'm thankful, as a result of President Biden's leadership, that we were able to avoid a default, prevent the extreme MAGA Republicans from crashing the economy and triggering a recession, which they believed would have benefited them politically in 2024, even though it would have hurt millions and millions and millions of everyday Americans. And we were able to arrive at that resolution and protect Social Security, protect Medicare, protect Medicaid, protect veterans and protect the American people from the draconian cuts that the right-wing wanted to jam down our throats. But they're not finished. They will continue with diabolical intensity to try to arrive at policies that are inconsistent with the health, the safety and economic well-being of the American people. And that's why we've got to continue to stay in the fight. House Democrats played a very important role in avoiding a default and we'll continue to play a very important role in doing the right thing by the American people and pushing back against the extreme MAGA Republicans in the House of Representatives.
SHARPTON: And we're talking about veterans, we're talking about Medicaid, we're talking about Social Security. We're talking about basic things Americans need. And the president, I think, delivered on that by protecting it. And you delivered. I mean, they talk about you in the room with the-with sneakers on. I don't care if you had on shower shoes on Pecan Avenue. If you're going to save all of that, you can use my slippers. Thank you, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.
Full interview can be watched here.