Trump demands Hakeem Jeffries be charged with inciting violence with 'maximum warfare' rhetoric
Jeffries calls Trump's comments 'another deranged rant' and predicts Democrats will take back the House in 2026
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}President Donald Trump accused House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., of inciting the most recent assassination attempt against him, further escalating his feud with the top Democrat.
Trump argued in a Truth Social post on Thursday that Jeffries should be arrested after promoting "warfare" against Republicans just days before the assassination scare at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in April.
"This lunatic, Hakeem "Low IQ" Jeffries, should be charged with INCITING VIOLENCE!" Trump wrote on social media.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}He included images of Jeffries standing with a sign displaying the words "maximum warfare" and the faces of Trump and his aide James Blair alongside an image "three days later" of alleged assassin Cole Allen storming the Secret Service checkpoint at the Washington Hilton.
Surveillance video released by the Justice Department appears to show suspect Cole Allen rushing a security checkpoint at the Washington Hilton with a weapon in hand during the White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting. (Department of Justice)
HAKEEM JEFFRIES DOUBLES DOWN ON 'MAXIMUM WARFARE' RHETORIC, TELLS CRITICS 'I DON'T GIVE A DAMN'
"Should Hakeem Jeffries be charged with inciting violence?" Trump’s post asked his 12.6 million followers to ponder.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A spokesperson for Jeffries referred Fox News Digital to a social media post where the top Democrat labeled Trump’s comments as "another deranged rant" and dinged the president on affordability.
"Gas prices are sky high, grocery bills are surging and families can't catch a break," he wrote on X. "Democrats are about to take back the House and you're losing your mind."
President Donald Trump argued Thursday that House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., should be charged with "inciting violence" after pledging to unleash "maximum warfare" on Republicans. (Samuel Corum/Getty Images; Kyle Mazza/Anadolu via Getty Images)
JEFFRIES LAUNCHES NEW YORK GERRYMANDER PUSH AFTER REDISTRICTING CLASH WITH DESANTIS
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The online skirmish came after Jeffries already defended his "maximum warfare" language amid GOP backlash in late April.
"I don’t give a damn about your criticism," he told Republicans.
Jeffries also justified his decision to use the phrase when discussing the nationwide redistricting battle by arguing that an anonymous White House staffer first deployed the phrase to threaten Democrats with GOP-friendly gerrymanders during an interview with The New York Times last year.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"That phrase ‘maximum warfare everywhere, all the time’ came from the White House in the summer of 2025, when they started this redistricting battle, and now they're big mad," Jeffries said at a news conference. "Why? Because Democrats have decided to finish it. Get lost."
Jeffries has consistently said that he opposes all forms of political violence, while refusing to walk back his fiery language.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., responded to Trump's attack with a taunt that Democrats would take back the House of Representatives during November's midterm elections. (Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP via Getty Images)
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}He told "Fox News Sunday" last month that lawmakers "set the most appropriate example" in their rhetoric, when asked about the rise in political violence.
"Whatever your ideological perspective is, we all love America, and we all want to make sure that this country is the best that it can possibly be," Jeffries said.