CNBC addressed the elephant within the room with Home Minority Chief Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) over communist Mamdani radicals successful their respective primaries towards entrenched Democrat incumbents within the Massive Apple. Jeffries’ canned response: Muh, however Trump!
Squawk Field co-anchor Andrew Ross Sorkin cornered Jeffries June 25 over the antisemitic, pro-Hamas, America-hating sentiments spewed by Home candidate Darializa Avila Chevalier, who was endorsed by extremist New York Metropolis Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D).
Regardless of Sorkin mentioning disturbing anecdotes like Chevalier’s management of the anti-Israel protests at Columbia College following the October 7 genocide or her name for abolishing police, Jeffries did the do-si-do and as an alternative pivoted attacked Trump and the GOP, which accurately had nothing to do with the preliminary query:
Her views are clearly not my views, and that needs to be apparent to everybody by way of what brings Democrats collectively … The smash and seize program that Donald Trump has been operating, the biggest pay to play scheme within the historical past of the nation is totally and completely unacceptable … That is what the very best of America has all the time been, and that is social safety. That’s Medicare. That is Medicaid. That is the Reasonably priced Care Act, that is veterans’ advantages. That is dietary help — the very factor Republicans try to destroy proper now.
Co-anchor Joe Kernen didn’t let Jeffries off the hook and pinned him towards the proverbial wall. “I keep in mind final time you have been on and also you mentioned virtually the identical factor that you just simply mentioned, and all of us nod.” Kernen continued: “And I do know it takes time from the interview and every little thing, but it surely would not actually reply the query that Andrew mentioned.” Kernen additional criticized that Jeffries’ non-answer “completely shifted from what we’re speaking about is whether or not when the Democratic Social gathering consists of somebody in that tent that believes these items.”
@JoeSquawk gave @RepJeffries a layup of a possibility to separate the Democratic Social gathering from the loopy communist, anti-Semitic Mamdani-ites that gained their New York primaries. Jeffries Response? “Muh, however Trump.” pic.twitter.com/qT7wL1kNtw
— Joe Vazquez (@JV3MRC) June 26, 2026
Kernen stipulated that having individuals with bona fide extremist coverage positions aren’t “going to unravel what you simply talked about, or a solution to any of our issues that you just delineate so eloquently. They have been saying, ‘You are subsequent’ about Hakeem Jeffries. ‘You are subsequent! You are subsequent! You are subsequent!’ You may’t — you possibly can’t suppose it is a constructive growth in New York politics, are you able to?” The Squawk Field persona then put Jeffries on the spot, “It’s good to reject — it’s essential reject these issues!”
Jeffries clearly didn’t take too kindly to the road of questioning, as he tried chopping Kernen off. He then supplied a pathetic, incoherent protection earlier than pivoting as soon as once more to the president, repeating the identical disingenuous misdirection Kernen accused him of constructing:
To start with, to begin with, I’ve clearly rejected these issues. That is primary. Quantity two. And my document speaks for itself. This isn’t a ‘Dems can be Dems’ scenario. Donald Trump is the president of the US of America proper now. Are you kidding me?
