Hakeem Jeffries shredded over ‘disgustingly violent’ call for Dems to break spirit of MAGA
Republicans online call the remarks 'violent' and a 'declaration of war' against tens of millions of Americans
By Peter Pinedo Fox News
Published May 19, 2026 4:57pm EDT
While speaking at a progressive conference on Tuesday, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., called for Democrats to not only defeat "MAGA extremists" electorally but also "break their spirit."
Jeffries, who stands to gain the House speaker’s gavel if Democrats take the majority in the midterm election, said that "part of how we as House Democrats view this moment, either MAGA extremists are going to break the country, or we're going to break them, and our goal is to break them."
During the panel, Jeffries assured, "As a guarantee, we are taking back control of the United States House of Representatives in November."
"We will defeat them," he continued. "We have to beat them electorally, and then we have to break their spirit, because of the extremism that's being unleashed on the American people, that's completely and totally unacceptable."
The comments sparked immediate concern and backlash from Republicans online.
Edgar Barrios, a spokesperson for House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., reacted on his private X account, "Hakeem Jeffries says he wants to 'BREAK the spirit' of 77 million AMERICANS. This is how Democrats talk about people who don't agree with them: violently."
Christian Maxwell, a Republican congressional candidate in Illinois, reacted on X, "Excuse me. Why is their rhetoric ALWAYS so disgustingly violent?"
Minnesota state Rep. Walter Hudson, a Republican, posted on X that Jeffries' comment is "further evidence that Democrats emanate a spirit of malevolence."
"Here it is from the very top. Jeffries wants to ‘break them,’ meaning tens of millions of Americans. He wants to ‘break their spirit,’" wrote Hudson. "That is not a benign policy goal. It's a declaration of war."
Joe Gruters, chairman of the Republican National Committee, reacted, "The majority of Americans voted for President Trump in 2024 - Democrats want to break those who did."
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https://www.foxnews.com/politics/hakeem-jeffries-shredded-disgustingly-violent-call-dems-break-spirit-maga
