Hakeem Jeffries issues THREAT to Ron DeSantis amid Virginia blowout

I'm glad to be joined by Hakeem. Jeffries. Thanks so much for joining me. >> Good to be with you. >> So, we obviously had a major victory in. in Virginia. This is something that you. had worked on for a long time and I want. to get into into your participation in. all of this, but before I do the map. right now as it stands looks to be. mostly set except for the state of. Florida. And so, in light of the results. that we've seen in California, in light. of the court decision that we saw adding. a seat in Utah, in light now of the the. referendum results in Virginia, what.

would your message be to Ron DeSantis as. they consider engaging in a gerrymander. on top of the existing gerrymander? >> That's exactly right. The map in Florida. that already exists was gerrymandered in. 2022. And so, to the extent they try to take. some additional seats in a map that was. already gerrymandered, what Ron DeSantis. will accomplish is placing additional. Republican incumbents in jeopardy.

And that's the reason why, Brian, so. many Florida Republicans quietly. have gone to the White House. and have gone to the governor telling. him not to go down this road. It was a. disaster for them in Texas where they. claim they're going to take five seats. away from us. They'll be fortunate in. Texas if they get to two or three. >> Yeah. >> And they're going to lose at least one. Republican incumbent as a result of the.

Texas gerrymander. And now Ron DeSantis is considering. making the same mistake in Florida. >> Can you talk a little bit more about. what you've heard from these other. Florida Republicans because that's been. floating around the zeitgeist a little. bit, but obviously we don't have. as good insight as I'm sure you do in. terms of what these people are saying to. the governor. >> Well, particularly in light of the. continued electoral success that. Democrats have had. We've now won. elections for 16 consecutive months. starting with an Iowa State Senate race.

in January of 2025 running all the way. through what just happened in Wisconsin. where we won a state Supreme Court race. by 20 points. in the state that Donald Trump had just. won in November of 2024. And of course. we've won special elections in Texas. in January of this year where we over. performed by 31 points. And then we won. a special election in Louisiana.

in a house race. >> Both of these not exactly liberal. bastions, right? >> No doubt about it. Conservative suburban. Texas. and then. rural Louisiana. >> Yeah. >> The home state of Mike Johnson and Steve. Scalise. where Donald Trump had won that district. in 2024 I believe by 13 points. The. Democratic. candidate won it by 24. That was a. 37-point over performance. That happened. in February.

And then. in Florida of course. we flipped the district. in Palm Beach. that is represented by Donald now. represent that Donald Trump. uh lives in in terms of Mar-a-Lago that. is now represented by a Democrat. We. also of course flipped the Miami mayor's. seat for the first time in 30 years by. 20 points. That was in December. And so. as all of these wins stack up Florida.

[snorts] Republicans and Republicans. across the country are getting nervous. because they know that Donald Trump has. been a failure. Republicans in Congress. have been a failure. They have nothing. positive to run on. They've now gotten. us into this reckless and costly war of. choice. And the last thing they need is to lose. Republicans in their districts which. will happen if they try to gerrymander. the map. >> Well, you know, in response to basically. your warning to Ron DeSantis in light of. the Virginia results, DeSantis had come.

out today and basically offered up some. ad hominem attacks against. against you. Do you think that this is. him. in in an actual confident state or is. this just him posturing because he knows. he's in a shitty position right now? >> Yeah, I think it's him posturing. And. look, Ron DeSantis is a failed public. servant, a failed governor, and a failed. candidate for president. He's reeling. right now. He's underwater in his own. state. He's got no credibility. He's.

struggling. His presidential ambitions. are done, finished. Right? And he knows this at this point. He was groveling to try to become a. cabinet secretary. Donald Trump shut him. down. >> Yeah. >> So, his whole world is falling apart. And now he's got a civil war going on in. his own state with Republicans warning. him that it would be a disaster to go. down this road. Because as Democrats, they know we're serious. When we say. we're going to go into a state and we're. going to compete heavily and.

aggressively, we're going to do it. >> And and by the way, that's that's a. change from what we had seen before. And. I think this redistricting fight is a. good microcosm for exactly that. Because. I think for a long time, this is. something I've been exceedingly critical. of, is the idea that if Democrats are. going to fight back, it's going to be in. the form of a strongly worded letter, right? And now we're seeing instances. where Democrats are saying, "Okay, you. know what? If you're going to If you're. going to gerrymander these maps to. engineer yourselves permanent majorities. in the house, if Trump feels like he's.

entitled to five seats, that it's not. going to be unilateral disarmament from. the Democrats. They're actually going to. fight back." And we saw that in. California. We saw that now in Virginia. And of course, there's other offensive. opportunities on the table. That. includes New Jersey, New York, Colorado. You know, we'll we'll see what happens. as we get into the next into the next. midterm cycle or the next general. election cycle. But I I want to talk. about your participation in this because. I don't know that a lot of people know. how involved in all of this you were. And in fact, even I wasn't until we had.

spoken a few months ago, and you are. deep in the weeds of making this happen. And to your credit, you're both doing. this and not out there taking all of the. credit that you should. So, I want to. give you the opportunity right here to. talk a little bit about what this. process has been like for you largely. behind the scenes. >> Yeah, well, it's been an. all-hands-on-deck effort, and I'm so. thankful that Democrats across the. country have stepped up in a phenomenal. way. That's the Democrats in Texas in. the state legislature, who I went to.

visit in late July when this was first. announced to talk about. how we can support their efforts to push. back aggressively, and ultimately they. made the decision to go on quorum break, which was an important decision to leave. the state, not to justify any of the. foolishness that the Texas governor was. trying to do upon being ordered by. Donald Trump to do it, and to shine a. national spotlight on Donald Trump's. efforts to rig the midterm election. To.

me, that was sort of key. And then I had. the opportunity to go visit them when. they were hanging out in Illinois. while the quorum break was underway, just to thank them and continue to. encourage them, and to make it clear. that we would support them all the way. through their efforts to push back. That, of course, helped to inspire. California responding. Governor Newsom. was a tremendous leader in this effort, and very early on connected with.

Governor Newsom, talked to the. California delegation led by Zoe. Lofgren, the dean, and Pete Aguilar, the. caucus chair, and of course, Speaker. Emeritus Pelosi, uh and the California. delegation did a tremendous job of. leaning in, working with the governor, and working with the state legislative. leaders, who I also had the opportunity. to engage with, as we were preparing to. execute the California response through. Prop 50,

which we knew needed to be forceful and. decisive, temporary. >> And and fast, by the way. >> And fast. There's no doubt about it. At. the same creative time, uh we knew that and this has been going. on now for. 10 months. And. it's one battle after another all across. the country. >> Yeah. >> So, we've pushed them back. in Texas and forced them into a dummy. mander. We won Prop 50 in California.

We've picked up a seat in Utah that a. Democrat will occupy. after the November midterm elections. We. stopped them in New Hampshire, stopped. them in Indiana, stopped them in Kansas, and stopped them. in Nebraska. We pushed them back in Ohio, and we're going to hold the three seats. in Ohio that they thought they were. going to be able to take away from us. That ain't happening. >> Yeah. >> And one of the ways in which we were.

able to successfully push them back in. Ohio, working with the legislative. leaders in the Ohio congressional. delegation, is because when they saw we. were serious. in California and willing to go to the. mat, it brought the Ohio Republicans to the. negotiating table because they were. concerned about a referendum. >> Yeah. >> that would have freeze anything that. they tried to do. And then, of course, working with. Abigail Spanberger, our governor, she's.

been an amazing leader, Don Scott, uh. the Speaker of the House, the. legislative leaders and members of the. Virginia General Assembly, the Virginia. Congressional Delegation, and all along. President Barack Obama, who's been a. forceful. advocate for a strong response, and. former Attorney General Eric Holder, we've gotten to this point. But, we're. going to keep our foot on the gas pedal. And. we're just in a moment of maximum. warfare.

everywhere, all the time. And the next battlefield is in Florida. And we we we mean it when we say we're. going to go in hard. If they tinker with this map. and create additional opportunities for. us to defeat Republican incumbents. >> Well, I think it's it's important to. note. that that while we could and should. celebrate this victory in Virginia, that, you know, obviously this this. fight will continue, especially in light. of the fact that we have.

the Calla case, section two of the. Voting Rights Act, which is likely to. come down any day now, and that will. likely gut what's remaining of the. Voting Rights Act, which means all of. these black opportunity districts, which mandate. black representatives in, you know, the. deep South, where there would otherwise. be gerrymandered maps, those will likely. go away. And that could that could mean a swing. of a dozen, two dozen, maybe even more. seats across the country. We also have. the prospect in 2030 of the census.

getting handed down, and that taking. seats away from. from traditionally or historically blue. states and giving them to red states, and what they'll do with them we is. already clear. And so, how does that. make you think about the battlefield. that we're looking at right now? I mean, I know I had mentioned. New Jersey, New York, Colorado. How does. it make you look at the rest of the map. in light of what's coming down the pike? >> Yeah, so we, you know, we're going to. continue to press forward, finish the. job in 2026, and we're close to being.

able to do that right now. Republicans are down in the. redistricting war that they started. anyway between three and five seats. And the DeSantis dummy man there is not. going to help them out in Florida if. they go down this road. >> Yeah. >> We got to finish the job in 2026, but as. you mentioned, look to the 2028 cycle. because it's our expectation that. Republicans will never learn the lesson. of engaging in a way that is consistent.

with free and fair elections because. they've adopted voter suppression as a. strategy. >> Right. >> Brian, because these people have no. ideas, they failed. They were a disaster, the economy is. falling apart, the war is deeply. unpopular, ISIS out of control, they got. nothing. And yes, as Democrats, we're going to. continue to articulate um a vision for. making life better for the American. people, for driving down the high cost. of living, fixing our broken health care. system, making sure that everyone in. America who works hard and plays by the.

rules, working class folks, middle class. folks, communities of color, everyday. Americans, you work hard, you play by. the rules, you should be able to live an. affordable life, a comfortable life, and. live the good life. We're going to fight. for that as Democrats. At the same. period of time, we have to level the. playing field and ensure that there are. free and fair elections. We're going to. do that in the 2026 cycle and then be. prepared to respond aggressively in. advance of 2028. So, that looks like New. York. and New Jersey.

and Colorado. and Washington at minimum. >> Yeah. >> And we're in the process of engaging. with the governors and the legislative. leaders in those states. to to set the possibility of changes in. motion. So, whatever the Supreme Court. does, we're going to have the ability to. respond and respond decisively. >> I I what's important there is that all. the while, like while this happens, Republicans are suddenly finding finding.

their conscience and and uh denigrating. the uh. the the race to the bottom that is. gerrymandering. Do you have a message to. these Republicans in terms of, you know, if they want to offer up national. legislation to ban partisan. gerrymandering nationwide, how amenable. you would be to that in very much the. same way that we had every single. Democrat vote for the Freedom to Vote. Act back in 2021 that in part would have. banned uh partisan gerrymandering and. you had not a single Republican who. voted in favor of it? >> Yeah, the first thing that comes to mind.

is what my grandmother used to tell me, which is be careful what you wish for. cuz you just might get it. And they started this redistricting war, we are finishing it. At the same period. of time, we believe, of course, that there should. be one national standard. >> Yeah. >> And we're committed to working on that, that partisan gerrymandering. and mid-decade gerrymandering should be. prohibited in every state, not just blue. states, in every state. And so that.

means we are committed to continuing to. move the legislation forward that we've. previously advanced that didn't get a. single. Republican member to support, but. uh that perhaps they see the light of. day now moving forward having been. pummeled in this fight that they. started. And. we've had at least a handful of. Republicans or former Republicans turned. independents like Kevin Kyle. suggesting a willingness to now support.

that legislation. He, of course, is on his way out. >> Right, he could do that as a private. citizen now. >> do that as a private citizen. It would. have been nice for him to speak up while. uh his party was actually trying to. start this war that they thought they. were going to win. >> Right, I mean that's the ultimate irony. is that all of these people who were. clutching their pearls and having. fainting spells right now didn't have a. word to say when it when Donald Trump. was sparking this movement off in Texas. and and Greg Abbott decided to you know. pick up the ball where it where Trump. left off and engage in this whole.

process in the first place. >> It's incredible to me that Donald Trump. himself apparently at the Virginia rally. where he was urging his MAGA supporters. to vote no, said gerrymandering is bad. Bro, you started this. And you only think it's bad right now uh. when you're on the wrong side of our. efforts to fight back. >> Well, to that end, Donald Trump actually. took to Truth Social today and wrote, "A. rigged election took place last night in. the great Commonwealth of Virginia. All. day long Republicans were winning. The. spirit was unbelievable until the very.

end when of course there was a massive. mail-in ballot drop. Where have I heard. that before?" And he goes on to spew out. a few more conspiracy theories, but I. actually think that this is instructive. because it kind of gives us a preview. into what Trump's defense here is going. to be. He's not going to be leaning in. to to try and win votes by virtue of how. he and his party, which has full control. of government, govern. They're looking. to just cry foul every time there's an. election that they lose. But the way. that they've been able to weaponize the.

positions of power that they hold right. now are actually pretty dangerous. because, you know, you have um you have. Republicans across the country who are. now seizing ballots. We saw that happen. in Fulton County, Georgia. We saw that. happen in Arizona. We just saw it happen. this past weekend in Detroit. Meanwhile, you have Trump signing an executive. order that would ban, prohibit mail-in. ballots nationwide even though it's. something that's secure enough for him. himself to use. >> Right. >> Um and then finally you have him leaning. on the Republicans to nuke the. filibuster so that they could pass the. Save America Act, which would, you know,

do a ton of damage, but in part put the. onus on on people to have a passport to. register to vote. Well, who's in charge. of issuing passports? It's Donald. Trump's federal government. So, um so. what does this tell you more broadly? This this post that Donald Trump made. about the weapons that he's preparing to. use as we head toward midterms. >> Well, the so-called Save America Act is. a classic example. of where Donald Trump's mindset is at. He said that passing this voter. suppression legislation is more.

important than housing or lowering the. high cost of living. Explicitly. has said that. Of course, Donald Trump. believes that the affordability crisis. is a hoax. So, we are preparing. >> affordability crisis that he ran and won. on, by the way. >> That's exactly right. Because for this guy, it was all about. trying to seize power. And he lied his. way back into 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, promised to lower costs on day one, and. of course costs will skyrocket out of. control, including gas prices as a. result of his reckless war of choice.

But. I think it does highlight for me. the fact that we are operating under the. assumption. that. Donald Trump is going to do everything. he can to prevent. the midterm elections from being free. and fair. And voter suppression is their strategy. And we've embarked on an effort that I. believe will be the largest voter. protection effort in the history. of modern-day America. And that's going.

to involve House Democrats, Senate. Democrats, the Democratic Governors. Association, the DNC, the Democratic. Attorneys General's Association, the. Democratic Secretary of State. Association, the Democratic Legislative. Campaign Committee, those are the state. legislators, working with the civil rights groups, organized labor, good government groups, civil liberties groups, democracy. protection groups, and the faith. community.

And those efforts have been underway. uh now for months in terms of planning, and we'll continue to intensify the. public engagement over the next few. months as we get inside of the six-month. countdown to the November general. midterm election. >> Do you have confidence though given. given the ease with which they can. deploy the tools at their disposal. and the ease with which Trump has. deployed these tools in the past. I. mean, hell, we're talking about a guy.

who literally incited an insurrection at. the US Capitol. This is not someone. who's going to be. who's going to be precious about when he. decides to. to wield his power. I mean, this is. somebody who's using the federal. government to prosecute political. enemies, judges, Democratic members of. Congress, Democratic senators. I mean, the sky's the limit. Do you Do you have. confidence that given the the opposition. that he's mounting and the tools that he. has at his disposal, that we will have.

enough tools on our end to protect our. free and fair elections? >> Yeah, it's an important question and. we're systematically going after all of. the ways in which he is going to try to. undermine the ability for the American. people to be the ones to make the. decision as to who's in the majority in. the next Congress as opposed to Donald. Trump trying to make that decision for. them by rigging the midterm election. So, we have to crush his gerrymandering. scheme and. we're on our way to doing just that.

We needed to stop his ability to deploy. the National Guard. Donald Trump. if you recall throughout much of last. year, federalized the National Guard and. we believe that that was part of his. effort, a trial run to be able to. unleash troops. in cities, towns, counties, and. municipalities. in advance of the midterm elections. to try to intimidate people from showing.

up. And so we immediately sued the hell out. of him. working of course. in partnership with our Democratic. governors. Governor California, Governor. of Illinois and the Governor. of Oregon. That case went all the way up to the. Supreme Court. and in December in a 6-3 decision. with conservative justices like Justice. Roberts. Justice. Amy Coney Barrett.

and. one other Republican Justice Gorsuch. said no. to the Trump administration and made. clear that he does not have the power to. federalize the National Guard over the. objection. of these governors and Donald Trump was. forced. to withdraw these National Guard troops. and so we've taken that ability away. from him. Now we're fighting a battle as. it relates to ICE and one of the demands.

that we've put on the table, the reason. why DHS uh has not been funded by. Republicans up until this point, we want. to fund the other parts of DHS that. don't involve ICE and the CBP. violent mass deportation machine that. Trump has unleashed on law-abiding. immigrant communities and American. citizens in some cases getting them. killed as we saw horrifically in. Minnesota. Uh we've put on the table that ICE. cannot conduct itself in sensitive.

locations. in terms of operations. And that we've defined as houses of. worship, schools. hospitals and polling sites. >> Yeah. >> And we're going to continue to push for. that because we want to remove the. ability of this president to deploy ICE. to intimidate communities across the. country. >> All right, well we will leave it there. Leader Jeffries, thank you so much for. taking the time. Thank you very much. >> [music].