Trump calls Rep. Jeffries 'nice guy,' says 'angry' voters might punish GOP

Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News on Aug 7, 2026

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President Donald Trump Friday called House Democratic Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries “a nice guy” and said he would “probably get along with him very well” in a new interview in which he also suggested Republicans could lose the House of Representatives in the midterms because voters are angry at the GOP.

Downplaying the past insults the men have hurled at one another, Trump told Punchbowl News he could do business with Jeffries, who would be in line to be Speaker of the House if Democrats retake the chamber in the fall midterms.

“People are harsh on me. I’m harsh on them. That’s part of the world,” Trump said. “I probably get along with him very well.”

Although Trump was not directly asked about Jeffries’ potential role as Speaker, his comments suggest that he sees the Brooklyn lawmaker wielding more power in the future. That would only happen if Democrats win control of the House.

Trump has trashed Jeffries as a “low IQ thug” and said he suffers from “Trump derangement syndrome.” He spread a fake video depicting Jeffries and Sen. Chuck Schumer, the Senate Democratic minority leader, as members of a Mexican mariachi band in a dig at their opposition to Trump’s mass deportation campaign aimed at undocumented immigrants.

Trump didn’t exactly give his Republicans allies in Congress a vote of confidence, either. He said conservative voters are angry at GOP lawmakers for failing to fully enact his agenda, and might not turn out to back the Republican ticket in the midterms when he won’t be on the ballot.

“The question is will they vote because a lot of them are very angry at Republicans,” Trump said. “They’re angry at Republicans but they’re not angry at me.”

He also declined to endorse Sen. John Thune for another term as majority leader if the GOP holds onto the upper chamber, noting that he has failed to jam through his SAVE America Act of new voting restrictions and will not end the filibuster.

Most political pundits believe Democrats will win control of the House, in large part because the party of a sitting president typically loses ground in midterm elections. The Senate is a tougher lift because Democrats would have to flip four GOP-held seats including a couple representing red states like Alaska, Ohio, Texas and Iowa.

Trump’s own approval ratings are also at historic lows, with polling averages showing less than 40% of American voters think he’s doing a good job.

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