‘Why Did You Do It?’ Don Lemon Grills Hakeem Jeffries on Jared Kushner Meeting

Don Lemon kicked off an interview with Hakeem Jeffries by asking the question “everyone” has been asking: why did he meet with Jared Kushner?

“Jared asked for the meeting and I agreed to have it because we’ve made clear as House Democrats, and I said this during the opening day of this Congressional session, that we’re going to be focused on pushing back against the extremism being unleashed on the American people and continuing to battle them on all the things in order to end this national nightmare,” Jeffries answered.

He added:

But at the same period of time, we recognize that the American people want us to get things done whenever and wherever possible, particularly as it relates to the affordability crisis that is suffocating the American people. Folks are drowning in this failed economy. Everyday Americans, hardworking Americans, Black and brown Americans, rural Americans, everybody’s suffering in this failed economy. They want us to get things done. And part of the reality of the governmental dynamic that we have right now is that in order for that to happen, you’ve got to be willing, at times, to sit and talk with people on the other side of the aisle who you may strongly disagree with on a whole host of issues in order to see what’s possible when it comes to solving problems for everyday Americans.

After Lemon pointed out Kushner is not an elected official and “has no effect on policy” and “does not have voting power in the Congress or the Senate,” Jeffries answered, “God forbid I sat and talked with Stephen Miller. It’d be interesting to see what the reaction is there, Don. In terms of Kushner, I think what is clear, what everybody understands, is that he is a senior advisor to Donald Trump and one of the most influential people in the Trump orbit.”

Watch the above via Don Lemon.

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