Hakeem Jeffries addresses Democratic Party divisions, says Trump is the bigger issue

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: NPR

Updated July 3, 2026 8:53 AM ET


House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries is making the case for party unity as this year's primary season exposes ideological divisions among Democrats.

Speaking with Morning Edition on Friday, Jeffries was asked twice by NPR's Michel Martin how he would work with candidates who defeated Democrats he had backed in New York primaries. Each time, Jeffries returned to President Trump and the GOP agenda, saying Democrats are focused on flipping Republican-held seats in November, lowering costs and opposing what he called "MAGA extremism."

He added that the House Democratic Caucus has long included progressives, New Democrats and Blue Dogs. "I've worked with sort of the ideologically diverse group of members up until this point and will continue to do so," Jeffries said.

Jeffries criticized Trump's decision to enter the conflict in the Middle East, saying House Democrats oppose what he called the president's "war of choice."

Read more: https://www.npr.org/2026/07/03/nx-s1-5879082/hakeem-jeffries-democratic-party-divisions-trump-midterms

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. And trump IS the bigger issue, my dear BumRushDaShow! As for me? He is the ONLY issue. n/t

[CousinIT]

2. Jeffries is right. Trump IS the bigger issue. I get suspicous..

...of anyone trying to gin up infighting among Democrats right now, whether it's the Dem establishment, Dem MoCs, DSA/social Democrats, or people on social media.

Because they either have lost the plot or are working to get other people to lose it. We have ONE job - and Democratic infighting is NOT it.

[Cha]

14. Mahalo to CousinIT! Well said..

We have ONE job - and Democratic infighting is NOT it.

[QueerDuck]

26. Suspicious, indeed!

[mcar]

3. He is 100% correct

We need to stop eating our own.

[Cha]

13. Mahalo, mcar! This is what I wrote in

in my post..

We can't do anything about new Laws to Stop the Fascists If we don't Win The Midterms.

[mcar]

15. It always amazes me that some don't realize this, Cha

but insist on voting their "conscience."

[Cha]

19. Anyone's "conscience" should be

Democracy VS more Killing Innocent People, More Nazism, More PEDO speewing his filth every damn day. Moe Wars on the American People, More Stephen Miler & Natalie Harp calling the shots.

Tough choice. Not.

[mcar]

22. Exactly!

[SamuelAdams]

4. All that matters is limiting the damage Trump can do in his last two years.

We can have this fight in the 2028 Democratic presidential primary. Right now, we have to elect as many Dems as possible in November. We need to focus on state and local races too.

[dave99]

5. DEMOCRATs are not a Sole Goal organization, it is a Party. Republicans March IN FOOT STEP, like NAZIs

[pat_k]

6. Any differences among members of the Pro-Democracy coalition are NOTHING compared to the Republican threat.

Voters and candidates with any sensory apparatus whatsoever get the absolute necessity to join together in the fight to defeat the evil empire made manifest by the obscenely corrupt, fascist corporatist Republican Party.

The ONLY way to begin to hold them accountable is for Democrats and Independents who caucus with them to win in as many places and by the largest margins possible -- margins that swamp their efforts to suppress and disqualify legitimate votes.

Any action or rhetoric that undermines that goal SERVES the fascist corporatist Republican Party; SERVES the Christian Nationalists; SERVES the White Supremacists; SERVES the obsessive and immoral Anti-DEI and LGBTQ lunactics.

And whatever beefs a DSA or progressive candidate may have with other Democratic electeds and candidates, it is time for them to shift from attacking other Dems to attacking the existential threat of the Republican Party.

Making America a nation we can be proud of is all about building a government that protects our individual rights while providing the public infrastructure and services we choose to provide ourselves.

And a liberal democracy that collectively chooses to socialize certain segments does not make this a socialist county.

It is the Republicans who are hellbent to destroy the fundamental principles of liberal democracy that have been the throughline across our history.

Call bullshit on the "leftist" labeling crap, because it is utter crap

[Biglinda 52]

7. I may be wrong...

But wasn't there a group of moderate dems who wrote the "moderate manifesto" this week after 2 progressives defeated incumbants in New York? So it's the socialists that are causing division?

Hakeem, you and the others in the Dem leadership have caused this. If you're smart, you'll return to the party of working people not the party of AIPAC.

[pat_k]

8. You are absolutely right. And FWIW, I sent each one a link to

... Heather Cox Richardson's discussion. (Noting it was sent in their capacity as a signer to the "Promise to America," since I'm not a constituent).

In particular, I objected to the "we are capitalists not socialists," including these points:

Making America a nation we can be proud of is all about building a government that protects our individual rights while providing the public infrastructure and services we choose to provide ourselves.

And a liberal democracy that collectively chooses to socialize certain segments is not "socialist." It is a liberal democracy making good on its promise to enact the will of the people.

That "promise"manifesto is one of the things undermining the effort to win in the most places by the biggest margins possible because it buys into the fascist corporatist "leftist" bullshit propaganda.

And BTW, here's the list:

The following 13 individuals have reportedly signed the “Promise to America” pledge as of June 26, 2026:

Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-NY) — Co-leading the initiative
Rep. Adam Gray (D-CA) — Co-leading the initiative
Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ)
Rep. Susie Lee (D-NV)
Rep. Don Davis (D-NC)
Rep. Vicente Gonzalez Jr. (D-TX)
Rep. Laura Gillen (D-NY)
Rep. Janelle Bynum (D-OR)
Rep. Kristin McDonald Rivet (D-MI)
Rep. Maggie Goodlander (D-NH)
Jessica Killin (candidate)
Marlene Galán Woods (candidate)
Bobby Pulido (candidate)

And here is the discussion from Heather Cox Richardson every candidate and elected needs to hear and internalize.

In a nutshell (less than 3 minutes)

Or the longer version

[thought crime]

18. We don't have to capitulate

"...a liberal democracy that collectively chooses to socialize certain segments is not "socialist."..."

They can't even call it social democracy? Do we have to accept Margaret Thatcher's claim that there is no such thing as Society?

Most Republicans don't dare to embrace the labels that accurately describe them: Fascist and Nazi. The Socialist label has useful meaning and can be used with pride. We don't have to hide from it. Rising numbers of Democratic Socialist candidates are a healthy response to fascist power, and a healthy Democratic Party would incorporate many Democratic Socialist ideas into the party platform and present them as a unified agenda to voters.

[Cha]

21. We can't do anything about new Laws to Stop

the Fascists If we don't Win The Midterms.

We'd be "capitulating" to the Nazis.

[pat_k]

24. Democratic socialists are not advocating socialism.

Last edited Sun Jul 5, 2026, 12:19 AM - Edit history (2)

They are not advocating collective ownership of the means of production.

I embrace liberal democracy and the choices we make under our constitution. Including long overdue choices such as socializing basic needs like healthcare and education -- things that are not f-ing commodities.

I am not "running away" from socialism. I am pointing out that turning this nation into a socialist country under which the means of production are collectively owned is not a goal of DSA, at least as far as I can tell.

It is not socialism that stands as a bulwark against fascist corporatism. It is our liberal democracy.

Denmark, one of the most robust liberal democracies by any metric, is the model I envision.

And it seems to me, that is the model DSA candidates envision.

And, BTW, the people of Denmark are downright offended when anyone characterizes them as a socialist country.

[question everything]

16. About the moderate Democrats

https://democraticunderground.com/1016432203

AIPAC is a lawful organizations just like many lobbies representing different concerns including foreign governments. But the recent wave of antisemitism includes it.

[dflprincess]

10. Jeffries is right about Trump - but unity is a two way street.

If the voters in a district or state select a more progressive candidate to run in the November election, the party apparatus needs to support that candidate just as it would a more moderate candidate. And it's up to the voters to "vote blue no matter who".

One of the things I'm fretting about in the Minnesota senate race is I've heard too many of Peggy Flanagan's supoorters say they won't vote for Angie Craig in November if she wins the primary. Mostly I've heard this from younger, newly active people. They refuse to see that not voting, or voting third party is what got us Trump twice.

Note: I am a Flanagan supporter. I'll vote for Craig if she's the candiate in November though I won't be smiling when I do it. But she's still better than whatever Republican wins their primary.

[Cha]

12. Mahalo, Dem Leader Jeffries! That's

What I am focused on, and every person should be who wants our Democracy Back!

We can't do anything about new Laws to Stop the Fascists If we don't Win The Midterms.

It only makes good sense

I'm glad I saw this, BRDS, TY!!

[travelingthrulife]

17. Stop falling for this GOP led 'dems in disarray' bs. The GOP does it every single

election cycle and Dems fall for it every time.

[Cha]

20. What does that have to do with Dems

have to win the Midterms?

Hakeem Jeffries is right.

[betsuni]

23. Exactly right. Divisiveness is going low, unity is going high.

[oasis]

25. If Dems haven't learned from Hillary's 2016 defeat,

there’s no saving our nation from the GOP fascist.
Remember, she lost by a very slim margin because..,….
Well, everyone here knows the reason.

[QueerDuck]

27. I know the reason... and it's complete BS. 🐂💩

Based on purity, pride, vanity, hurt feelings, disloyalty, sabotage and wanting a sense of revenge. We saw it again with Harris, and this anti-Democratic party hostility is present still today. It's ridiculous, absurd and total BS.