House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries delivered a stark assessment of the political landscape at the Center for American Progress’ 2026 CAP IDEAS Conference on Tuesday, declaring Democrats must “beat” Americans who voted for President Trump and then “break their spirit.”

During his session titled “A Look Ahead at the 120th Congress,” Jeffries stated: “Part of how we as House Democrats view this moment, either MAGA extremists are going to break the country, or we’re going to break them, and our goal is to break them.” He emphasized that Democrats must defeat opposing voters “electorally” before addressing what he described as “extremism unleashed on the American people.”

The remarks drew immediate backlash. Edgar Barrios, a spokesperson for House Speaker Mike Johnson, condemned Jeffries’ language as an attempt to “BREAK the spirit” of 77 million Americans and noted it reflected how Democrats characterize political opponents. RNC Chairman Joe Gruters added that the majority of voters chose Trump in 2024 and accused Democrats of wanting to “break those who did.” Senator Mike Lee questioned the meaning of Jeffries’ comments, highlighting tactics like “lawfare, investigations, social media censorship, and corporate pressure campaigns” deployed against Trump supporters since 2016.

Jeffries, who would become Speaker if Democrats regain House control in November, did not respond to inquiries from Fox News Digital regarding his remarks. The Center for American Progress described the event as its annual gathering of center-left leaders, with Jeffries appearing alongside figures including Senator Elizabeth Warren and Governor Gavin Newsom.