Hakeem Jeffries calls Trump behavior ‘unhinged’ amid government shutdown

Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., called President Donald Trump’s behavior “unhinged” and “unreasonable” on Sunday during NBC’s “Meet the Press.” 

Jeffries was responding to the president’s posts about the Democratic lawmaker last week as the government remains shut down. 

“Let me ask you, because the administration has personally targeted you with memes throughout this negotiation. We’ll show a screenshot of one of the videos. This was put out by the president. The president also called the Democrats the party of, ‘hate, evil, and Satan.’ Is the president someone you still feel like you can negotiate with? Do you have that relationship with him?” NBC News host Kristen Welker asked.

Trump shared a meme video to Truth Social on Monday that showed Jeffries wearing a mustache and a sombrero while mariachi music played in the background. 

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“That behavior is outrageous, it’s unhinged, it’s unreasonable, and it speaks for itself. The American people deserve better than lies, than attacks, than deep fake videos and the president spending all of his time on the golf course. We need serious leadership,” Jeffries said.

“And we will continue to make clear — Leader Schumer, myself — that we will sit down any time, any place, with anyone to address this issue with the seriousness that it deserves, to stand up for the American people,” Jeffries said. 

The lawmaker also accused Republicans of creating a “cost-of-living” crisis.  

Welker confronted Jeffries on his past stance regarding funding the government, showing the minority leader a clip of himself from 2023, during which he said, “A continuing resolution that is at the fiscal year 2023 levels is the only way forward.”

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“Why not fund the government and debate extending ObamaCare tax credits after the fact? They don’t expire until the end of the year,” Welker asked.

“What we’ve called for is a bipartisan negotiation, where Democrats and Republicans can sit down in good faith, reopen the government, pass a spending bill that actually improves the quality of life for the American people, in an environment where the cost of living is already too high,” he said. 

He pointed to the tax credits again and argued America is too expensive, blaming the president. 

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“If these affordable tax care credits are allowed to expire, premium and healthcare costs are going to skyrocket. And America is already too expensive for the American people because of the Trump failed policies, the Trump tariffs, and this will make things worse. So we just want a bipartisan negotiation that addresses the healthcare crisis at the same period of time with the fierce urgency of now,” he said. 

The White House did not immediately return a request for comment.