Trump Stunningly Reverses Attacks on ‘Low IQ Thug’ Democrat
Donald Trump has stunningly reversed course on House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, abruptly claiming he could work with the top Democrat he has spent months publicly savaging.
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Speaking expansively and candidly about Congress, the president opened up about Jeffries during an interview with Punchbowl News.
If Republicans lose their House majority in November, Trump, 80, will find himself facing off against the New York Democrat and prospective speaker as his primary foil on Capitol Hill. Up to this point, the two men have spent significant face-to-face time together only once, during a meeting held amid last year’s government shutdown.
Despite that history, Trump struck a surprisingly warm tone toward his rival. “I think he’s a nice guy. I mean, I did. He was here. Yeah, we had a good meeting,” Trump said. When host Jake Sherman pressed the president by pointing out that Jeffries “is harsh on you,” Trump casually shrugged off the hostility. “He’s harsh because I’m harsh on him, you know. I’m sure he wouldn’t be so so harsh,” he said.
Asked point-blank whether he could do business with Jeffries, Trump offered a flat yes. “Look, the people harsh on me, I’m harsh on them. It’s part of the world. You cover it very well. You cover specifically Congress, you see a strange group of people, but I’d probably get along with them very well. I got, you know, I had I met him essentially once. I think I’d probably get along with them very well.”
The sudden charm offensive marks a striking shift from earlier this year, when Trump kicked off a manic month on Truth Social by firing off a late-night post featuring a photo of Jeffries holding a baseball bat and branding him “Low IQ” and a “thug.”
“Hakeem Jeffries, a Low IQ individual, said our Supreme Court is ‘illegitimate.’ After saying such a thing, isn’t he subject to Impeachment? I got impeached for A PERFECT PHONE CALL. Where are you Republicans? Why not get it started? They’ll be doing this to me!” Trump wrote at the time.
Those scorched-earth posts followed a landmark Supreme Court ruling determining that congressional districts drawn to ensure fair representation for Black voters are not protected under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. Jeffries slammed the decision as “illegitimate” during a press conference with the Congressional Black Caucus, warning that the ruling was “designed to undermine the ability of communities of color all across this country to elect their candidate of choice.”
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Jeffries is poised to make history as the first Black speaker of the House if Democrats retake the chamber in November. Trump’s attacks against him have unfolded against an increasingly dangerous backdrop of political violence, including a direct attempt on Jeffries’ life.
In October 2025, Christopher Moynihan—a January 6 rioter pardoned by Trump—was arrested after threatening to murder the Democratic leader. Echoing Trump’s own fiery language, Moynihan wrote online: “I cannot allow this terrorist to live.”
Trump also posted an AI video depicting Jeffries in a sombrero, which Jeffries branded “racist.” Jeffries also responded by resharing the president’s Truth Social post on X with the caption “Jeffries Derangement Syndrome”—a playful riff on the “Trump Derangement Syndrome” phrase long deployed by the president and his supporters.
Elsewhere in the Punchbowl interview, Trump pivoted from praising his chief Democratic rival to torching his own Senate leadership.
The president railed against Senate Majority Leader John Thune over the stalled SAVE America Act, legislation that would mandate proof of citizenship to vote in federal elections.
Pressed in the Oval Office on whether Thune should keep his leadership post, Trump delivered an ominous signal: “We’re going to find out, and I’ll let you know.” When pushed again by Punchbowl, Trump added: “He’s trying hard, I really believe that. But, uh, if he doesn’t get there, it would be unfortunate.”
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