House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) said on Monday that he “doesn’t give a damn” about claims from the White House that Democratic rhetoric fueled the attempted assassination of President Donald Trump at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner.
Reporters asked Jeffries about comments White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt made earlier in the day that alleged that the “left-wing cult of hatred against the president” had incited the attack. Leavitt, in particular, highlighted comments that high-profile Democrats had made in the past, including one last week by Jeffries saying America was in an “era of maximum warfare” when it came to redistricting.
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Jeffries said that political violence is “unacceptable,” but also admitted he was unconcerned “with so-called criticism from these phony Republicans.”
“I stand by it,” he continued. “You can continue to criticize me for it. I don’t give a damn about your criticism.”
Jeffries went on to say that Leavitt was a “disgrace” and “stone-cold liar” and the White House had no right to “lecture us about civility” given Trump’s pardoning of the individuals who took part in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot. One of the individuals pardoned was later charged with threatening Jeffries’s life.
“Get lost, clean up your own house before you have anything to say to us about the language that we use,” said Jeffries.
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Leavitt, who is pregnant, delayed her maternity leave on Monday to brief the press in light of the attempted assassination at the correspondents’ dinner.
“This political violence stems from a systemic demonization of [Trump] and his supporters by commentators, by elected members of the Democrat Party, and even some in the media,” said Leavitt. “The left-wing cult of hatred against the president and all of those who support him and work for him has gotten multiple people hurt and killed, and it almost did so again this weekend.”
