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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.”
HAKEEM JEFFRIES’ CALL TO FIGHT TRUMP AGENDA ‘IN THE STREETS’ SPARKS BACKLASH AS A ‘MAXINE WATERS MOMENT’
An outside spending group linked to House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., poured nearly $40 million into the Democratic effort to get the since-defunct gerrymander approved by Virginia voters. (Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images)
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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Chair of the Republican National Committee Joe Gruters speaks during the RNC Winter Meeting at the Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort in Santa Barbara, Calif., on Jan. 23, 2026. (Patrick T. Fallon/AFP)
“Democrats are only interested in revenge, not serving the American people. We cannot let them win,” he added.
Meanwhile, Congressman Mike Lee, R-Utah, posted on X, “Hakeem Jeffries wants to ‘break’ Trump voters,” adding, “He says ‘we have to defeat them electorally and then we have to break their spirit.’ What does that even mean?”
Actor and author Nick Searcy reacted, “This is how communists talk. ‘WE WILL BREAK YOU!’ The good guys don’t say things like this. The super villains do.”
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Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said he does not believe Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., or House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., will be honest brokers in the upcoming Department of Homeland Security negotiations. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
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Radio show host Mark Levin also piled on, calling Jeffries “an absolute thug” and “totalitarian.” Levin added that Jeffries “wants to shred our republic.”
Podcast host Libby Emmons reacted defiantly, writing, “You will never break my spirit, Mr. Jeffries, and you’re a petty little man for wanting to do that to your fellow Americans.”
Fox News Digital reached out to Jeffries for comment.
