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<\/a><\/p>\nREV. AL SHARPTON:\u00a0Joining me now to kick off this special show, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries. Thanks for starting off this 15th anniversary edition of PoliticsNation. We have a lot to cover, but I want to start off with some of the day\u2019s top headlines. Yesterday marked the six-month anniversary of President Trump\u2019s war with Iran, a conflict the administration told us would be over in a matter of days. That\u2019s still going half a year later. This week, the administration announced an \u2018Economic D-Day\u2019 against the Iran\u2014against Iran. But have you seen any signs that we\u2019re getting anywhere close to a resolution that would calm global markets and get our troops out of harm\u2019s way?<\/p>\n
LEADER JEFFRIES:\u00a0Well, first of all, Rev., great to be with you. Congratulations on 15 amazing years. And so appreciative to be on this anniversary show. And congratulations on a very successful march to defend the vote yesterday. As you indicated,\u00a0Donald Trump promised that this war of choice in the Middle East would be over in four to six weeks. It\u2019s now raged on for more than six months with no end in sight. What we have seen is that Iran is actually stronger now than they were before this conflict was recklessly entered into, and the American people are economically weaker, particularly as it relates to skyrocketing gas prices and skyrocketing food prices. It\u2019s clear that\u00a0Donald Trump and Republicans entered into this conflict with no clear objectives, no plan and no exit strategy. And so, now we find ourselves in a mess where you\u2019ve had 18 brave, patriotic service members lose their lives, hundreds have been seriously injured and, of course,\u00a0tens of billions of taxpayer dollars have been wasted.<\/p>\n
REV. AL SHARPTON:\u00a0Now, staying with global affairs, last night the Trump administration announced what it claims is a deal to take control of 65 billion barrels of Venezuela\u2019s oil reserves. This is eight months after the administration took out the regime of former President Nicolas Maduro. The consequences of this deal for global energy markets are potentially massive. But what do you make of it? Is there something Trump can actually do? Is there something within his purview? Would it lower prices at the pump, like he claims?<\/p>\n
LEADER JEFFRIES:\u00a0Very unlikely to lower prices.\u00a0Nothing that they\u2019ve done has actually driven down the high cost of living, notwithstanding the fact that Donald Trump and Republicans promised that they were going to lower costs on day one. Costs in the United States of America, of course, have not gone down.\u00a0Costs have gone up as a result of direct actions being taken by Republicans, including the Trump tariffs, which have increased costs on everyday Americans by thousands of dollars per year. And, of course, this\u00a0reckless war of choice that has resulted in costs, particularly gas prices and food prices, increasing. So this, to me, seems like another desperate attempt to pretend as though the problems that the American people want Donald Trump and Republicans to solve are going to be solved.\u00a0The only way to actually move this country in a different direction is going to be to make sure that we take back control of the House as well as the Senate in November. We\u2019re committed to actually fighting for an affordable America, to lower the cost of groceries and gas and housing and to make sure that healthcare is affordable for every single American.<\/p>\n
REV. AL SHARPTON:\u00a0Now, moving closer to home, President Trump this week massively escalated his trade war with Canada after talks between the two countries collapsed. The White House imposed a new 50% tariff on Canadian products that economists warn could increase costs for American consumers. Trump also signed an executive order renaming Lake Ontario to Lake America. In your opinion, is any of this doing anything to help make living expenses more affordable for Americans or to create jobs?\u00a0And if not, what is it all about?<\/p>\n
LEADER JEFFRIES:\u00a0Well, again, I think what we\u2019re seeing is Donald Trump throw a temper tantrum because Canada refuses to bend to his will, and I think he\u2019s been so used to a Republican Congress that conducts itself like nothing more than a reckless rubber stamp for Donald Trump\u2019s extreme agenda. He doesn\u2019t like it when people push back against his failed, broken and extreme policies. Certainly\u00a0this trade war with Canada is going to make life more expensive for the American people\u00a0in an environment where far too many people are already working hard, they\u2019re playing by the rules, but they can\u2019t thrive and can barely survive. Life is too expensive in the United States of America.\u00a0People are drowning in this failed economy, and we\u2019re determined to do something about this affordability crisis. It\u2019s not a hoax. It\u2019s very real. I hear about it every day in the district that I\u2019m privileged to represent in Brooklyn or as I travel the nation. It certainly is also the case, Rev., that pretending to rename Lake Ontario is going to do nothing to actually improve the situation that we\u2019re in relative to this failed economy. And\u00a0we need serious people to engage in serious behavior and that\u2019s not what\u2019s coming out of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, or the Republican-controlled Congress\u00a0right now.<\/p>\n
REV. AL SHARPTON:\u00a0Now, we\u2019re all counting down to the midterms, now just 66 days away. With polls showing approval ratings plummeting for President Trump and his Republican Party, many Democrats are worried this White House is looking for ways to mess with the vote. One area of growing concern is the post office. The administration says it\u2019s moving ahead with restrictions to mail-in voting after the Supreme Court earlier in the week lifted an injunction on procedural grounds. However, there\u2019s already been another partial injunction issued at the district court level and the legal fight is expected to continue. If the order is allowed to be enacted, states could potentially have to hand over their voter rolls, or the post office might not deliver their ballots. Can you talk about the significance of this situation and what Democrats are doing to push back?<\/p>\n
LEADER JEFFRIES:\u00a0We\u2019re going to continue to do everything possible to make sure that this illegitimate, we believe, unlawful and ultimately unconstitutional order does not stand. The Framers of the Constitution were very clear in assigning responsibility to oversee elections to states and local authorities\u2014that was done specifically to avoid some king-like figure from being able to try to parachute in and manipulate an election. And that\u2019s why ultimately we believe that on substantive grounds, we will prevail in the courts, including ultimately if it goes back up to the courts, the United States Supreme Court, perhaps it doesn\u2019t get there because the lower courts continue to do the right thing. Now we also have to be prepared for the reality that\u00a0Republicans have adopted voter suppression as an electoral strategy. And that\u2019s why, as Democrats, we\u2019re committing to making sure that we stand up the largest voter protection effort in the history of the country. That\u2019s House Democrats working with Senate Democrats, working with the Democratic Governors, the Democratic Secretaries of State, as well as the Democratic Attorneys General like Tish James, of course, here in New York State. And also partnering with civil society\u2014so the civil rights groups, of course, Reverend Sharpton, making sure we partner with civil liberties organizations, organized labor, good government groups and the faith community.\u00a0This is an all-hands-on-deck effort underway to make sure that it is the American people, at the end of the day, who are the ones who get to decide who\u2019s in control of Congress, who wins these Governors races, not MAGA extremists.<\/p>\n
REV. AL SHARPTON:\u00a0Now, last question. You\u2019re spending the August recess crisscrossing the country for Democratic candidates. And next month, you\u2019ll be hosting a massive fundraiser with former President Obama right here in New York City. At the same time, Republicans are holding their midterm convention. Democrats are feeling hopeful about their chances in November. But as you know, these midterms are coming in the midst of the most intense attack on voting rights and Black representation in this country since the Civil Rights era. That\u2019s why you were with us yesterday at the March on Washington, which I helped organize with the King family in my capacity as head of National Action Network, which you\u2019re a member of. Are you optimistic that your party can overcome the Supreme Court decision gutting the Voting Rights Act and Republican efforts to redraw congressional maps to eliminate Black-majority districts throughout the South and elsewhere? Will you be holding the Speaker\u2019s gavel when PoliticsNation celebrates its 16th anniversary next year?<\/p>\n
LEADER JEFFRIES:\u00a0Well,\u00a0we\u2019re going to work to do everything that we can to make sure we win back control of the United States House of Representatives on November 3rd. In terms of any change in title, that\u2019ll be a January 3rd issue and if we have the opportunity to work on that we certainly will. But\u00a0our commitment is to make sure that we continue to aggressively push back against all of the extremism unleashed on the American people\u00a0and that certainly is the attack\u2014unprecedented in modern American history\u2014on Black political representation and the opportunity for African American communities in the South and throughout America to elect the candidate of their choice.\u00a0This Callais decision was egregious. It\u2019s why we need dramatic Supreme Court reform and certainly, as House Democrats,\u00a0we\u2019re committed to making sure one of our top priorities in the majority is passage of the John Robert Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, so we can end the era of voter suppression\u00a0here in this great country of ours once and for all.<\/p>\n
REV. AL SHARPTON:\u00a0Well, it\u2019s our honor that you kicked us off on our anniversary of PoliticsNation. Thank you, Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries.<\/p>\n
LEADER JEFFRIES:\u00a0Thank you, Rev.<\/p>\n