House Minority Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) held a press conference on Friday in Brooklyn where he criticized President Donald Trump‘s attempted federal funding freeze.
Jeffries vowed to protect programs including Meals on Wheels and Head Start which would be affected by such a freeze, and promised that the Democratic Party will continue to fight against Trump’s agenda and “far right extremism.”
Jeffries said: “Right now, we’re going to keep focus on the need to look out for everyday New Yorkers and everyday Americans who are under assault by an extreme MAGA Republican agenda that is trying to cut taxes for billionaires, donors, and wealthy corporations and then stick New Yorkers and working class Americans across the country with the bill.”
Jeffries added: “That’s not acceptable. We are going to fight it legislatively. We are going to fight it in the courts. We’re going to fight it in the streets.”
MAGA Republicans including Rep. Tom Emmer (MN) and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (GA) are demanding an apology from Jeffries “for his use of inflammatory and extreme rhetoric.”
Emmer wrote on X: “House Minority Leader [Jeffries] should promptly apologize for his use of inflammatory and extreme rhetoric.”
He added: “President Trump and the Republicans are focused on uniting the country; Jeffries needs to stop trying to divide it.”
Greene wrote on X: “Hakeem Jeffries just gave the dog whistle to the violent ground troops of the always radical communist left.”
Hakeem Jeffries just gave the dog whistle to the violent ground troops of the always radical communist left.
Remember last time when Democrats did this?
We had 4 years of violence and insanity.
Apologize Hakeem Jeffries. pic.twitter.com/aEHBnrEfhm
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene
(@RepMTG) January 31, 2025
Jeffries spokesperson Christie Stephenson responded to the Republicans’ demands for an apology: “The notion that Leader Jeffries supports violence is laughable. Republicans are the party that pardons violent felons who assault police officers. Democrats are the party of John Lewis and the right to petition the government peacefully.”
President Trump has been accused of giving dog whistles many times, as in November 2020 when responding to an adverse ruling from the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, he wrote on X: “The Supreme Court decision on voting in Pennsylvania is a VERY dangerous one. It will allow rampant and unchecked cheating and will undermine our entire systems of laws. It will also induce violence in the streets. Something must be done!”
Whether a statement can be interpreted as a dog whistle, of course, depends on how it is heard — and by whom. The phrase derives from the fact that dogs can hear different frequencies than humans, and in politics it means that a group of people will discern a message that another group can’t make out. Arguments about dog whistles, therefore, are fated to remain speculative.
One of the most debated examples dates to January 6, 2021, before insurrectionists breached the U.S. Capitol, when Trump told the crowd to “Fight like hell. And if you don’t fight like hell, you won’t have a country anymore.”
The President continues to use the phrase “FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT” on merchandise as seen below for his crypto meme brand, $Trump. He uttered the words after an attempted assassination on his life last summer.
My NEW Official Trump Meme is HERE! It’s time to celebrate everything we stand for: WINNING! Join my very special Trump Community. GET YOUR $TRUMP NOW. Go to https://t.co/GX3ZxT5xyq — Have Fun! pic.twitter.com/flIKYyfBrC
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 18, 2025