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House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., avoided directly answering questions about socialist candidates and their supporters chanting that he’s “next” to face a primary on Thursday.
Days after the state’s primary elections, Jeffries was asked about New York social activist Darializa Avila Chevalier, who has taken part in anti-Israel protests, called for the abolition of prisons and called the U.S. a “f—ing disgrace.”
“Her views are clearly not my views, and that should be obvious to everyone in terms of what brings Democrats together,” Jeffries said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.” “Listen, we believe that we’ve got to drive down the high cost of living. We’ve got to solve this affordability crisis. It’s not a hoax. There are far too many people in this country who are working hard. They’re playing by the rules, and they can’t thrive. In fact, they can barely survive. That’s not acceptable in the wealthiest country in the history of the world.”
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Jeffries then went on to attack President Donald Trump and the Republican Party, only to be interrupted by host Joe Kernen, who urged him to stay on topic.
“We all agree with what you just said, but it totally shifted from what we’re talking about is whether the Democratic Party includes someone in that tent that believes these things. I don’t think any of those things are going to solve what you just talked about or answer to any of our problems that you delineate so eloquently,” Kernen said.
He added, “They were saying, ‘you’re next’ about Hakeem Jeffries. ‘You’re next, you’re next, you’re next.’ You can’t think this is a positive development in New York politics, can you? And, oh, they’ll just, you know, ‘Dems will be Dems’ or something like that. I don’t see how you can say that.”
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“First of all, I’ve clearly rejected those things. That’s number one. Number two, my record speaks for itself. This is not a ‘Dems will be Dems’ situation. Donald Trump is the President of the United States of America right now. Are you kidding me?” Jeffries responded.
He repeated that his focus was on “ending this national nightmare” caused by Trump and rising costs. Kernen then asked about concerns that far-left candidates could deter people from the Democratic Party.
Jeffries emphasized that voters would have more issues with the failures of the Republican Party but returned to the concern over the socialist candidates.
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“The reality is, primaries do happen. There are 435 members of the House of Representatives. And am I going to agree with every single member on the Democratic or Republican side on every issue? Of course not. But there are members, you know, who are on their way, you know, into Congress right now who, you know, I have a long track record of having worked with,” Jeffries said.
Fox News Digital reached out to Jeffries’ office for comment.
Three socialist candidates won their primary elections Tuesday night, defeating candidates backed by the Democrat establishment, including Jeffries. Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) members Darializa Avila Chevalier and State Assemblywoman Claire Valdez, along with progressive Democrat and former DSA member Brad Lander, all have a clear path to Congress after winning in heavily blue districts.
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In response to the wins, Valdez’s supporters were seen shouting “you’re next” at a television screen showing Jeffries on Tuesday.
Fox News’ Peter D’Abrosca contributed to this report.
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