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'Traitor!': Jeffries gets rude awakening at Democratic convention as heckler erupts
By Ireland Owens
Published November 13, 2026
Protesters confronted Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., presumed to be the next House speaker, as he spoke at a Democratic conference in Colorado on Friday.
While speaking at a panel event moderated by political consultant Jessica Tarlov at the "What's Next" conference in Denver, Jeffries was repeatedly interrupted by protesters heckling him.
"When is it time for a Green New Deal?" protesters shouted at Jeffries. "When is it time for Medicare-for-all?"
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., speaks to members of the media as he arrives at a House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee meeting at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., Nov. 6, 2025. (Eric Lee/Getty)
Various videos from the conference posted to social media show different viewpoints of the hecklers.
"You are a f---ing liar," one protester yelled at the New York Democrat.
"Hakeem Jeffries … I’m a young person, and I am scared for my future," the protesters yelled during the panel discussion.
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House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., speaks during a news conference on healthcare with other House Democrats on the East steps of the U.S. Capitol on the 15th day of the government shutdown in Washington, D.C., 15, 2025. (Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Jeffries' office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request seeking comment Friday.
What's Next bills itself as a "major post-election gathering of the Democratic Party, where the leaders, ideas and debates that will shape the party through 2028 and beyond take center stage," according to a statement on the conference's website.
"Together, we'll absorb what happened in 2026 and chart where the party goes next," the statement said. "What’s Next, presented by majority Democrats and sponsored by MD PAC, is the defining convening of the post-election season, bringing together the people who will write the party’s next chapter."
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House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., speaks with reporters as he walks to his office after a news conference at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., March 27, 2026. (Samuel Corum/Getty Images)
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The What's Next conference comes after the Democratic Party made major gains in the Nov. 3 midterm elections.
Jeffries said in a post Thursday on X that House Democrats "will clean up the mess in Washington, get big money out of politics and ban members of Congress from trading stocks."
House Democrats are scheduled to vote on their leadership slate Nov. 18, and Jeffries is running unopposed for the party's nomination for speaker.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/traitor-jeffries-rude-awakening-democratic-convention-heckler-erupts