House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries took aim at President Donald Trump’s Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on Friday, unleashing a barrage of personal insults during remarks to reporters as tensions mounted over the ongoing government shutdown.
“You’ve got Karoline Leavitt, who’s sick. She’s out of control,” Jeffries said. “And I’m not sure whether she’s just demented, ignorant, a stone-cold liar, or all of the above,” Fox News reported.
Jeffries’ comments were in response to Leavitt’s earlier claim that the Democratic Party “consists of terrorists, violent criminals, and undocumented immigrants.” He accused the Trump administration of spreading misinformation during a critical time for the country.
“The notion that an official White House spokesperson would say that the Democratic Party consists of terrorists, violent criminals, and undocumented immigrants makes no sense,” Jeffries continued. “This is what the American people are getting from the Trump administration in the middle of a shutdown.”
The remarks quickly drew attention across Washington and ignited a fierce response from Leavitt, who fired back in a lengthy post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
“Hakeem Jeffries and the Democrats are lashing out because they know what I said is true,” Leavitt wrote. “The Democrat Party’s elected officials absolutely cater to pro-Hamas terrorists, illegal aliens, and violent criminals.”
Leavitt accused Democrats of repeatedly siding with radical activists and opposing efforts to defend U.S. borders.
“House Democrats voted against a resolution condemning Hamas following the horrific October 7th terrorist attacks,” she said. “Democrats cheered on pro-Hamas radicals while they hijacked America’s college campuses and harassed Jewish students.”
Leavitt also faulted Democrats for what she called “failed border and crime policies,” pointing to the record influx of illegal crossings in recent years.
“Democrats opened our borders and allowed tens of millions of illegal aliens into our country over the past four years, including rapists and murderers, because they view them as future voters,” she continued. “Democrats coddle violent criminals and support soft-on-crime policies like cashless bail that let violent offenders back on the streets to hurt law-abiding citizens.”
Her post ended with a direct attack on the Minority Leader himself.
“Democrats do NOT serve the interests of the American people. Hakeem Jeffries is an America Last, stone-cold loser,” Leavitt wrote. “Now open up the government and stop simping to try to get your radical left-wing base to like you.”
She later clarified her remarks in an appearance on Fox News’ Sean Hannity program.
