House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries made stark remarks at the Center for American Progress’ 2026 IDEAS Conference on Tuesday, stating that Democrats must defeat “MAGA extremists” electorally and then break their spirit.
Jeffries, who would become Speaker of the House if Democrats regain a majority in November, described the political moment as one where either MAGA extremists would break the country or Democrats would break them. He emphasized: “We have to beat them electorally, and then we have to break their spirit, because of the extremism that’s being unleashed on the American people, that’s completely and totally unacceptable.”
The comments drew swift criticism from multiple figures. A spokesperson for House Speaker Mike Johnson stated Jeffries wanted to “BREAK the spirit” of 77 million Americans, calling it how Democrats describe those who disagree with them.
RNC Chairman Joe Gruters noted that the majority of Americans voted for President Trump in the 2024 election and said Democrats aim to break those voters. Senator Mike Lee questioned the meaning of Jeffries’ remarks, pointing to tactics such as lawfare, investigations, and social media censorship used against Trump supporters since 2016.
Jeffries declined to comment when reached by reporters.