MeidasTouch host Ben Meiselas speaks with House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries on what Democrats can do to stop Trump’s destruction. Remember to subscribe to ALL the MeidasTouch Network Podcasts: MeidasTouch: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/meidastouch-podcast Legal AF: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/legal-af MissTrial: https://meidasnews.com/tag/miss-trial The PoliticsGirl Podcast: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-politicsgirl-podcast The Influence Continuum: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-influence-continuum-with-dr-steven-hassan Mea Culpa with Michael Cohen: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/mea-culpa-with-michael-cohen The Weekend Show: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-weekend-show Burn the Boats: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/burn-the-boats Majority 54: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/majority-54 Political Beatdown: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/political-beatdown On Democracy with FP Wellman: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/on-democracy-with-fpwellman Uncovered: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/maga-uncovered Coalition of the Sane: https://meidasnews.com/tag/coalition-of-the-sane Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Chapter 1: How did Donald Trump criticize Zelensky?
I'm joined by House Democratic Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. Congressman, yesterday Donald Trump held a press conference while he was once again on vacation. He threatened President Zelensky of Ukraine and he called Zelensky a dictator. I want to play the clip and I want to get your response to it. Let's play it first.
Like a fiddle. He played him like a fiddle. That's an expression we use, yes sir, to say that he's pretty easy, pretty easy. A dictator without elections. Zelensky better move fast or he's not going to have a country left. Got to move. Got to move fast.
Chapter 2: What is Hakeem Jeffries' response to Trump's statements?
What's your response, Congressman? Zelensky is not a dictator. He was a duly elected president of Ukraine. It's just stunning that Donald Trump continues to just lie so effortlessly to the American people. We know that President Zelensky is a champion for democracy, freedom, and truth, and an important ally to the United States of America.
It's shocking, but I guess not surprising, that Donald Trump continues to play footsie with Vladimir Putin, a sworn enemy of the United States of America.
What's going on with your Republican colleagues, though? They pretend that they support Zelensky, but then when it comes down to it, they're spineless and they're supporting Donald Trump, who's, you know, doing what you just saw there. I mean, is there a way to what can we do? Is there a way to shame these Republicans? How do we call them out whenever they're asked about it?
They're always like, oh, we never heard what he said.
Chapter 3: How can Democrats hold Republicans accountable?
Part of the problem is that we're dealing with a group of people in the House Republican Conference. and over in the Senate, where for far too many of them, facts don't matter. Hypocrisy is not a constraint to their behavior. They'll say one thing and then do something entirely different. And many of them have actually come to the conclusion that their shamelessness is a superpower.
So from my vantage point, we can't let them get away with it. We have to hold them accountable. It's one of the reasons why we've been trying to make the point in the House that on any given issue,
It only takes three House Republicans to break with the MAGA extremists and join all 215 House Democrats to stop bad things from happening and get some good things to happen for the American people, individuals all across the country, in every community, in every corner of America. It only takes three House Republicans. What I'm asking for a mass example of profiles in courage. Only three.
And we can't let them off the hook. And as House Democrats, we won't let them off the hook.
And so speaking of not letting them off the hook, but what if you can't get the three because they're afraid that Donald and Elon are going to do a mean post? Look, Donald Trump's approval rating right now, it's sinking. It's down in the 40s. But, you know, let's face it. Congress in general has a low approval rating. House Dems on recent polls don't have a great approval rating.
People want to see fighting. I mean, they want to see Dems out there, peacefully protesting, but out there fighting for their rights. So let's just assume the three people don't come on board. I understand that Dems don't control the House, don't control the Senate. I get that. But people, I think, are saying, what can we do, Congressman? What can we do?
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Chapter 4: What strategies do Democrats have against MAGA extremism?
It's a very important question. And look, the flood of extremism and the parade of horribles that has been unleashed on the American people is an intentional strategy by Donald Trump and the MAGA extremists to try to disappoint, discourage, and disorient the American people. It's an intentional strategy. Now, we're not going to be intimidated. We're not going to be cowed by it.
We certainly will not bend the knee. Donald Trump is not a king. We don't have kings In the United States of America. So my view has been it's an all hands on deck effort that requires us pushing back aggressively on multiple fronts. We, of course, have to push back in the Congress, in the House and in the Senate. And we'll continue to do that.
Every single Democrat on the House Budget Committee last week. opposed the GOP tax scam and spent 12 hours battling the extreme MAGA Republicans to make sure that we expose their scheme and their betrayal of working class Americans to people all across the country. We have to push back in the Congress.
We will continue to push back aggressively in the courts, working with our allies, democracy reform groups, organized labor, civil society, and of course, the Democratic Attorney General, shout out to Tish James, my attorney general, who's doing her thing, will continue to work with them.
There have been more than 75 different lawsuits that have been filed and counting related to at least 35 of the unconstitutional and unlawful executive orders from Donald Trump and his administration. And Ben, as you know, we're not losing in court, we're winning.
We have to keep our foot on the gas pedal, but you're talking about dozens and dozens of lawsuits that have been filed that are righteous and necessary. And we're pushing back against Donald Trump and the extremism in the courts. And of course, it's gonna require everybody stepping up
In communities all across the country, we're urging members to continue to hold town hall meetings, telephone town hall meetings, in-person events, show up in churches and synagogues and mosques and beauty salons and barbershops and schools and hospitals and everywhere that we can to bring along the American people as part of this multi-pronged effort that includes
pushing back on the ground in the community and bringing the American people along with us in this fight.
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Chapter 5: How are Democrats addressing the high cost of living?
You know, when people approach me when I'm out and about, they often say some variation of this. You know, Dems are, though, acting like it's business as usual, Ben, while Republicans, the MAGA extremists, Donald Trump and Elon Musk, they go, Ben, They're playing dirty out there. They're not following through with court orders. They've gerrymandered this. They're doing all of these tricks.
And then Democrats are like, well, we got to go through the motions. We got to go through the rules. We got to go through these things. They go, Ben, It's asymmetrical warfare. So how do you even compete with that? You must hear some variation of that as well. I'm not sure if the implication is that, you know, Democrats need to be equally as dirty as Republicans.
But what's your message when people are out there? You know, I think you hear that. I hear that a lot.
Listen, I think the American people understandably see all of what I would call diabolical intensity coming from the other side of the aisle. We have to not simply match that intensity, but exceed it by enlightened and righteous intensity. We have the high ground on these issues. The American people do not wanna see Medicaid devastated. They want us to protect social security and Medicare.
They don't wanna see massive tax cuts for Republican billionaire donors and wealthy corporations, which is the whole objective behind the Republican budget scheme. And then they want to stick working class Americans with the bill. I think the American people actually want to see us do something meaningful to drive down the high cost of living in the United States of America.
That was the central promise that Republicans made to the American people all of last year while they ran away from Project 2025. acted like it didn't exist. But this year, they're doing everything they can to implement the most extreme parts of Project 2025.
And as part of that bait and switch, doing nothing, zip, nada, nothing at all, no plan, no bill, no legislation, no ideas, no initiatives to address the high cost of living in the United States of America. And we, of course, as Democrats have to expose that, expose the hypocrisy,
Expose the lies that were told to the American people and use every tool available to us in the legislative toolbox, in the litigation toolbox, and in the mobilization toolbox in order to get America through this moment and make sure that we can come out stronger on the other side.
Let's talk about that GOP budget scheme right now. What, $4.5 trillion in tax cuts for the billionaires and the oligarchs, $880 billion cuts in Medicaid, $250 billion cuts in agriculture to farmers, $350 billion in cuts to education. I could go on. There's nothing about no tax on tips, nothing about no tax on social security, nothing about no tax on overtime. So what are
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