Hakeem Jeffries Defends “Maximum Warfare” Comment: “I Don’t Give A Damn About Your Criticism”
On Monday, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) addressed the heated rhetoric last week about redistricting, before the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. Jeffries said he stands by the term “maximum warfare” and that he doesn’t “give a damn about criticism.”
REPORTER: Mr. Leader, I want to get your response. I realize this quote is a quotation from someone else, but you, Republicans, continue to hit you over saying maximum warfare everywhere all the time in your tweet after the Virginia election, so I want you to respond to that. And from a macro perspective, if you can, what are you advising your members to do about rhetoric right now that you criticize the president without facing GOP voters? HOUSE MINORITY LEADER REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D-NY): Political violence in any form directed at anyone, whether that’s the right, the left, or the center, is unacceptable. Period. Full stop. The notion that any of us are concerned with so-called criticism from these phony Republicans as it relates to anything that has been said, certainly as it relates to the comment related to maximum warfare everywhere all the time in connection with the redistricting battle that Republicans launched. I stand by it. You can continue to criticize me for it. I don’t give a damn about your criticism.
