Hakeem Jeffries bristles when grilled about NYC socialist Zohran Mamdani: ‘Not even the mayor'
The New York Democrat, during an interview on CNBC's 'Squawk Box,' had ripped President Trump as being anti-free market over his recent decision to replace the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics following a bad jobs report.
That prompted host Andrew Ross Sorkin to redirect the conversation to the Big Apple mayoral race, telling Jeffries he didn't understand how the congressman could be both 'an advocate for a free market,' and also possibly support Mamdani, a socialist, as mayor.
'I'm trying to understand why you would spend a significant amount of time asking me about the Democratic nominee who's not even the mayor,' a visibly frustrated Jeffries shot back.
3 Hakeem Jeffries was agitated by the series of questions he faced about Zohran Mamdani.
CNBC
'And it's not a legitimate point to raise about a president who is regularly attacking the free market economy, bullying corporations, bullying universities, bullying law firms,' he added.
Jeffries — one of the several top New York Democrats, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Gov. Kathy Hochul who have yet to endorse Mamdani — was repeatedly peppered with questions about the front-runner's far-left goals, such as rent freezes, free buses and city-run grocery stores.
But Jeffries mostly skirted around the questions and refrained from giving direct answers, seemingly prompting Sorkin to revisit the Mamdani questions again and again.
The Brooklyn rep and Mamdani met last month for the first time and Jeffries has said they will have another sitdown with the rest of the New York House delegations.
3 Zohran Mamdani has championed a far-left socialist agenda for New York City.
Stephen Yang for the New York Post
'We had one initial conversation. It was a constructive and candid conversation. It was centered around the community,' Jeffries said.
'In that conversation, he indicated he liked my help in putting together additional meetings with members of the Congressional delegation, as well as leaders in many of the communities that I represent,' Jeffries said. 'That meeting is being put into motion right now.'
Jeffries also contended that Democrats 'believe in a strong floor and no ceiling' for Americans, meaning they want the government to assist the poor but supposedly aren't bent on taking down the rich.
The top House Democrat noted how Trump recently suggested that Goldman Sachs should fire its chief economist, Jan Hatzius, who forecasted that households will eventually have to pay about two-thirds of the tariff costs.
3 Hakeem Jeffries has stayed neutral in the New York City mayoral race.
CNBC
Hatzius, who is famous for his prediction in 2008 that mortgage defaults could trigger a massive recession, had made a series of grim forecasts about the impact of Trump's tariffs.
'He's the leader of the free world, the President of the United States of America, he's in office right now, and he's attacking the market-based economy,' Jeffries added about Trump.
National Republican Congressional Committee Spokesman Mike Marinella quickly attacked Jeffries for lashing out on CNBC, telling The Post, 'he's more upset about being asked about socialism than he is about socialism itself.'
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