House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries spoke at Ohio Union Sunday, discussed recent presidential election and new book

Carter Kohli
Tue, 26 Nov 2024 07:01:19 +0000
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House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries speaking with his brother and Ohio State associate professor Hasan Jeffries at the Ohio Union Sunday as part of a promotion for Hakeem Jeffries’ new book, The ABCs of Democracy. Credit: Carter Kohli | Special Projects LTV Producer

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries spoke at the Ohio Union Sunday alongside his brother, Ohio State professor Hasan Jeffries, about American values, the recent presidential election and the future of American politics.?

Hakeem also visited the Union to promote his new book “The ABCs of Democracy,” which translates the speech he gave after his ascension to minority leader to an illustrated medium. The collaborative event — organized by Gramercy Books, Ohio State’s Department of History and its College of Arts and Sciences — took place in the Archie M. Griffin Grand Ballroom, offering attendees a rare opportunity to see both brothers talking together on stage.

At the event, Hakeem Jeffries said he chose to focus on the American values of family, faith and freedom within the book because he feels it is important to contrast those values with autocracy. He said as the United States nears its 250th birthday July 4, 2026, Americans should look to reflect on these values.

“That’s a monumental, consequential moment for all of us to reflect on who we are, who we’ve been, where we’re heading and certainly the continuing march toward a more perfect union,” Hakeem Jeffries said.

Later, Hakeem Jeffries said as U.S. presidents come and go, American institutions and ideas remain the same. He said his ideas surrounding American values stem from the hardworking principles instilled in him by his family, church and experiences growing up in a diverse Brooklyn community.

Hasan Jeffries added that an ever-growing lack of knowledge surrounding those values fueled misinformation and disinformation during the 2024 election cycle. Hakeem Jeffries agreed and said people are living in an era in which misinformation and disinformation have become overwhelming.

“It’s a great thing that the media ecosystem has grown in such a significant way, but it also creates challenges,” Hasan Jeffries said.

Hakeem Jeffries said Americans used to get their news from a handful of trusted sources, but that is no longer the case. He said new ways of disseminating information — namely social media — have created a media sphere in which there is a lack of widely accepted knowledge and facts.

In order to reestablish this common knowledge, Jeffries said, schools nationwide should teach civics, with a specific emphasis on the idea of a government “of the people, by the people and for the people.”

“These are things we should be able to agree upon, and hopefully we can get back to that, get back to that place,” Hakeem Jeffries said.

Hakeem Jeffries said he focused on the U.S. Constitution in his book because, as former President George Washington said in his 1796 farewell address, “It is sacredly obligatory upon all.” The nation is anchored in the fundamental rule of law, with the Constitution as its premier doctrine, Hakeem Jeffries said.

Turning to the topic of the recent presidential election, Hakeem Jeffries said though many might be disappointed with the outcome, the political pendulum swings back and forth over time. He said an incoming president is at the height of their power, and the unconventional choices for cabinet positions by Donald Trump’s forthcoming administration have been interesting to watch.

“They were ridiculous,” Hasan Jeffries said.

Hakeem Jeffries agreed and said many of Trump’s picks put the constitutional principle of separate but co-equal branches of government to the test. He said that in a pick as “uniquely unqualified,” “dangerous” and “out of control” as Matt Gaetz’s attorney general nomination, those constitutional principles nevertheless held.

Gaetz withdrew from consideration for the role Nov. 21, according to the Associated Press.

Gaetz’s withdrawal offers a glimmer of hope that the Constitution’s principles still have some power over a “cult-like allegiance” to a single individual, Hakeem Jeffries said.

Hasan Jeffries also noted that Trump focused on major metropolitan, majority Black cities as part of his campaign strategy; even so, he said the president-elect’s campaign involved racism that animated certain voters, citing how Trump echoed false claims that Haitian immigrants were eating people’s pets in Springfield, Ohio, during his Sept. 10 debate with Vice President Kamala Harris as a specific example.

“It was an appeal to racism, and in many ways, and I would argue, that racism in this election won out over reason,” Hasan Jeffries said.

Hakeem Jeffries said national elections are complex, especially with a former president looking to regain his position and a historical milestone figure in a vice president who is a woman of color. Though Harris’ race and gender may have been a considerable factor for some voters, he said she did not lean into these aspects on the campaign trail.

“I think [it] was a hopeful, optimistic campaign designed to bring people together to solve problems on behalf of hardworking American taxpayers; she only had 107 days to do it, and I think she did an extraordinary job under difficult circumstances,” Hakeem Jeffries said.

Though there is still data to be analyzed, Hakeem Jeffries said the high cost of living appears to have been the dominant concern this election. Even in the best economy of any developed country post-pandemic, he said Americans still felt the hit of inflation and pressure from rising housing prices, which he said led to the belief President Joe Biden and Harris had not done enough.?

It is important for future Democrats, Hakeem Jeffries said, to make it clear they are the party that wants to help everyday Americans.

“One of the things that we’ve talked about is to make it clear that we actually are the party that wants to make a difference in the lives of all Americans — working-class Americans all across the country, of every race,” Hakeem Jeffries said.

During a visit to Germany for the Munich Security Conference last year, Hakeem Jeffries said he asked about combating the rise of far-right ideology in Germany, as it is happening to a similar degree in the U.S. — as seen via the recent march of Neo-Nazis in Columbus Nov. 16.?

Hakeem Jeffries said he learned how Germany practiced a “culture of remembrance,” working to remember every part of history and prevent its erasure.

Jeffries said some people who want to erase history in this country need to be taught the culture of remembrance. He said this even applies to the U.S. Congress, in which a Black Republican representative claimed Black Americans were better off during the Jim Crow era, something Hakeem Jeffries said he felt he had to respond to.

“I articulated on the House floor why I thought that was problematic, and then at the end, an Ice Cube lyric came to me and I said, ‘You better check yourself before you wreck yourself,’” Jeffries said.

On placing people over politics, Hakeem Jeffries said the House of Representatives was designed to be the closest reflection of the American people, with members only having two-year terms.?

This makes it incredibly diverse, he said, with Democrats and Republicans on the right, left and center of the political spectrum, each with conflicting views. But ultimately, Hakeem Jeffries said they are there to govern and should always put the American people first.

Hakeem Jeffries said he is open to working with the incoming administration to solve problems Americans are facing and deliver real results. However, he said Democrats will push back against extremism whenever necessary to protect Social Security, Medicare, the Affordable Care Act, the right to vote, women’s rights regarding reproductive health and to combat climate change.?

“If alt-right crosses into those spaces, they will have a fight on their hands,” Hakeem Jeffries said.

Despite being saddened by incumbent Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown’s (OH-D) reelection defeat to his Republican opponent Bernie Moreno, Hakeem Jeffries said he sees Brown having a chance to usurp now-Vice President-elect J.D. Vance’s seat in two years.

“It looks like it could be a 220-to-215 House of Representatives that will actually be the smallest majority that any incoming party, Democrats or Republicans, will have had since prior to the Great Depression,” Hakeem Jeffries said.

Hakeem Jeffries said the mission for the Democratic Party these next two years will be to work with Trump’s administration when it can, but also to stop Project 2025 — a presidential transition project that is proposed by conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation and appeals to conservative extremist viewpoints.?

He said Democrats will attempt to implement a project of their own, Project 2026, to take back the House, but until then, they will work with what they have to meet their goals.

“We’ll be a lean, mean fighting machine to defend American values,” Hakeem Jeffries said.

Providing a message to young people disappointed by the outcome of the election, Hakeem Jeffries said it is important to hold on to the idea of hopefulness, remember “failure is not fatal” and trust that change does not happen without adversity.

“People often focus on the glory, but they miss the story, and when they see the story, they’ll understand how you ultimately get to the glory, and often it’s through adversity,” Hakeem Jeffries said.