House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries erupted Friday in a fiery tirade against White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.
The top Democrat blamed President Donald Trump’s administration for what he described as a surge of political violence and intolerance across the country.
“We’ve already seen a rise in political violence and hatred in America,” Jeffries told reporters on Capitol Hill.
“You’ve got swastikas apparently appearing in the offices of Republican members of Congress, and Young Republicans engaging in the most antisemitic and racist speech possible.”
🚨 JUST IN: Hakeem Jeffries calls Karoline Leavitt "sick, she's out of control…demented, ignorant, a stone cold liar, or all of the above."
Every single one of those words apply to Hakeem, not Karoline.
He's flailing.pic.twitter.com/yOgNYdZS6j
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) October 17, 2025
He accused Republicans of “ripping the sheets off” before launching into a personal attack on Leavitt, calling her “sick” and “out of control.”
Jeffries speculated whether she was “demented, ignorant, a stone-cold liar or all of the above.”
His outrage stemmed from remarks Leavitt made during a Fox News appearance the previous evening, in which she argued that the Democratic Party’s base includes “Hamas terrorists, illegal aliens and violent criminals.”
Karoline Leavitt says: “The Democrat party's main constituency, are made up of Hamas terrorists, Illegal aliens and violent criminals. That is who the Democrat Party is catering too.”
She couldn’t be more CORRECT!🔥 pic.twitter.com/8xIwXXs0wz
— Gary D (@KMGGaryde) October 17, 2025
Jeffries said the idea that a senior White House spokesperson would use such language “makes no sense.”
In a biting response posted on X, the Trump administration’s press secretary fired back at the congressman.
“Democrats do NOT serve the interests of the American people,” she wrote. “Hakeem Jeffries is an America Last, stone-cold loser.”
“Now open up the government and stop simping to try to get your radical left-wing base to like you,” Leavitt added.
The clash came as Jeffries also condemned two separate controversies involving Republican figures this week.
One incident involved an American flag featuring a swastika discovered in the office of Rep. Dave Taylor of Ohio.
Taylor denounced what he called “a vile and deeply inappropriate symbol” and said his office had launched an internal investigation.
The second controversy erupted when members of the Young Republican National Federation were found to have shared racist and antisemitic messages in a private chat group.
Politico reported that senior members, including Vermont State Sen. Samuel Douglass and New York aide Peter Giunta, had participated in the exchanges.
Giunta was fired from his position, and Vermont’s Republican Governor Phil Scott urged Douglass to resign.
Rep. Elise Stefanik, a top Trump ally, also condemned the group’s messages as “disgusting.”
New York Governor Kathy Hochul slammed the Young Republicans in a scathing press conference, saying, “This is not one person saying they love Hitler. This is a whole lot of people saying things that are so disgusting and so abhorrent that everybody from the president on down should condemn them.”
She called for consequences, demanding that those involved be expelled from the party and stripped of any campaign roles.
“Kick them out of the party. Take away their official roles. Stop using them as campaign advisers. There needs to be consequences. This bulls*** has to stop,” Hochul said.
Hochul later tied the controversy to what she characterized as a pattern of inflammatory rhetoric from Republican leadership, specifically referencing comments made about Democratic New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani.
“We have a leader from the Republican Party in this state who calls our candidate for mayor a jihadist and a terrorist,” she said.
“And then somehow says, ‘oh, what they said, these young Republicans was wrong.’ Like, look at what you say yourself.”
Meanwhile, Vice President J.D. Vance turned the spotlight on Democrats, pointing to recently leaked text messages allegedly sent by Virginia’s Democratic attorney general nominee Jay Jones.
In those messages, Jones appeared to wish harm on the children of a Republican lawmaker.
“This is far worse than anything said in a college group chat,” Vance wrote on X, adding, “The guy who said it could become the AG of Virginia.”
This is far worse than anything said in a college group chat, and the guy who said it could become the AG of Virginia. I refuse to join the pearl clutching when powerful people call for political violence. pic.twitter.com/kV57Wq7BLG
— JD Vance (@JDVance) October 14, 2025
Vance posted a screenshot of the exchange in which Jones allegedly wrote, “Only when people feel pain personally do they move on policy.”
The Vice President said he refused to “join the pearl clutching” over the Young Republicans scandal while Democrats like Jones remained in top races.
“I refuse to join the pearl clutching when powerful people call for political violence,” Vance said.
California Governor Gavin Newsom entered the fray as well, calling for the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee to investigate the Young Republican National Federation.
“Calling for gas chambers. Expressing love for Hitler. Endorsing rape. Using racist slurs,” Newsom wrote in a post on X, demanding that Committee Chair James Comer launch a probe into what he called “shocking, deeply offensive messages.”
The Vice President of the United States will not unequivocally condemn Young Republicans for saying that their perceived political opponents should be sent to gas chambers.
A window into @JDVance's disgraceful character. https://t.co/xuTaf5Vj2R
— Governor Gavin Newsom (@CAgovernor) October 15, 2025
Newsom also took aim at Vice President Vance, accusing him of failing to condemn the comments from the group.
“The Vice President of the United States will not unequivocally condemn Young Republicans for saying that their perceived political opponents should be sent to gas chambers,” Newsom said, calling it a “window into J.D. Vance’s disgraceful character.”
The ongoing political brawl comes as polls show Vance narrowly leading Newsom in a hypothetical 2028 presidential matchup.
A recent Emerson College survey found 46 percent of voters would back Vance, while 45 percent would support Newsom and 10 percent remain undecided.
Neither has formally announced a campaign, though both are widely viewed as frontrunners for their respective parties.
