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The White House on Friday called on House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries to apologize for inciting violence while delivering public remarks.
While speaking alongside Congressional Black Caucus Chair Yvette Clarke, D-N.Y., at an “emergency meeting” to combat President Trump’s executive orders, Jeffries claimed that Americans were “under assault by an extreme MAGA Republican agenda.”
“That’s not acceptable. We’re going to fight it legislatively. We are going to fight it in the courts. We’re going to fight it in the streets,” he stated.
White House deputy press secretary Kush Desai told Fox News Digital, “While President Trump remains focused on uniting our country and delivering the mandate set by the American people, the House Minority Leader, Hakeem Jeffries, incites violence calling for people to fight ‘in the streets’ against President Trump’s agenda.”
“This unhinged violent rhetoric is dangerous. Leader Jeffries should immediately apologize.” Desai added.
The White House issued a press release shortly thereafter, accusing Jeffries of making a “sick call for violence” and asked, “Will Minority Leader Jeffries apologize for this disgusting threat? Or will he double down on the same calls for violence that have plagued the country for years?”
House Majority Whip Tom Emmer shared the clip of Jeffries’ remarks in a post on X, saying, “House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries should promptly apologize for his use of inflammatory and extreme rhetoric. President Trump and the Republicans are focused on uniting the country; Jeffries needs to stop trying to divide it.”
The Senate Republicans page on X also shared the post, captioning it with, “It’s alarming that Leader Jeffries called for ‘fighting in the streets’ to stop deportations of criminal illegal aliens.”
Their post called on Senate Democrats to condemn his “threatening rhetoric.”
The clip of Jeffries’ remarks quickly spread on social media, earning the top spot on X’s trending tab.
Jeffries’ spokesperson downplayed his remarks in a statement to Fox News Digital, claiming that it was “laughable” that he would support violence.
In a post on X, the spokesperson wrote that Jeffries was referring to “nonviolent protest.”