House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries had strong words for President Donald Trump following a Truth Social post in which Trump called Jeffries’ party “the greatest enemy” of the United States. During an appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union” on March 22, Jeffries did not hold back, criticizing Trump’s rhetoric.
Jeffries Responds to Trump’s “Reckless” Comments
When CNN anchor Dana Bash asked Jeffries about Trump’s post, the New York Democrat responded bluntly:
“Donald Trump should keep his reckless mouth shut before he gets somebody killed.”
The post, which was shared earlier on March 22, came amid the ongoing war with Iran, which has entered its fourth week. In the post, Trump said the Democratic Party was “the greatest enemy America has,” linking his comments to the ongoing military conflict, which the administration has dubbed “Operation Epic Fury.”
Trump’s message continued, “Now with the death of Iran, the greatest enemy America has is the Radical Left, Highly Incompetent, Democrat Party!” He ended the post with a sign-off, “President DJT.”
Trump’s Conflicting Statements on the War
Trump has offered conflicting statements about how long the conflict in Iran will last. While the war began on February 28 with joint U.S.-Israeli airstrikes, recent polls indicate widespread opposition to the war.
In a phone interview with Axios on March 11, Trump claimed the military operations would end soon, saying there was “practically nothing left” to target. He added, “Any time I want it to end, it will end.”
However, just days later, during an interview on Fox News Radio, Trump suggested that the conflict would end “when I feel it in my bones.”
Jeffries Criticizes ICE Deployment to Airports
Jeffries also took issue with Trump’s decision to deploy ICE agents to help TSA employees during the ongoing partial government shutdown. In a Truth Social post on March 22, Trump announced that ICE agents would be sent to airports to assist TSA amid rising staffing shortages caused by the shutdown.
The shutdown, which began in February, was triggered after Congress failed to pass funding for the Department of Homeland Security. Trump blamed the shutdown on “Radical Left Democrats.”
When asked about the move to deploy ICE agents to airports, Jeffries responded, “There are three things that have been true since Donald Trump and Republicans came back into power last January: Life is more expensive, life is more chaotic, and life is more extreme.”
He added, “The last thing that the American people need are untrained ICE agents being deployed at airports, potentially to brutalize or even kill them.”
Concerns Over ICE Behavior
Jeffries continued his criticism by pointing to the track record of ICE: “We’ve already seen how ICE conducts itself,” he said. “These are untrained individuals when it comes to doing the current job that they have, let alone deploying them in close exposure and highly sensitive situations at airports across the country.”
