House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries was interrupted twice by protesters during an onstage conversation in Denver on Friday, and answered the second, a man screaming obscenities at him, with a grin: “Remember, Jessica, I’m from Brooklyn. This is light work.”
Jeffries was appearing at the “What’s Next” conference, a post-election gathering of Democrats in Denver, in a discussion moderated by Jessica Tarlov. The event is the party’s first big strategy session since Democrats swept the midterms, and Jeffries is preparing to become speaker when the new Congress is sworn in.
The first disruption came from members of the Sunrise Movement, who shouted, “When is it time for a Green New Deal? When is it time for Medicare for All?” One protester, who identified herself to the Washington Examiner as Nicole Shea Niebler of the Sunrise Movement, said, “They’re not listening to people. We are young people who want Medicare for All, a Green New Deal, progressives, and they’re not listening to us.” She added, “Young people delivered this blue wave. We should get what we want and get what we voted for.” The protesters were escorted out as members of the audience chanted Jeffries’s first name.
Minutes later came the second disruption. A man in the audience, demanding impeachments, screamed, “You are a f***ing liar,” at Jeffries, and the crowd chanted him down. Tarlov tried to move the conversation on, asking, “So, how about permitting reform?” The man answered by screaming “F*** you all” at the stage, twice. Jeffries stayed seated, smiling. “Remember, Jessica, I’m from Brooklyn,” he said. “This is light work.” Tarlov laughed and told him, “You’re so chill.”
The man kept shouting, accusing Jeffries of taking money from private equity and doing nothing for the people. Jeffries answered that one personally, telling him he remembered him and had grown up with his brother. Then he picked up Tarlov’s question as if nothing had happened: Democrats “certainly need to get permitting reform done,” he said.
The Denver gathering has already produced one leadership tremor: earlier on Friday, Sen. Chris Van Hollen used the same stage to challenge Sen. Chuck Schumer for the Senate majority leader post. The protests aimed at Jeffries were a reminder that the party’s new majorities arrive with their left wing demanding to be heard.
Video: C-SPAN
