Hakeem Jeffries just got humiliated on live national television.
Now a self-described socialist is headed to Congress on his watch – and Jeffries won't say a single word against her.
Kernen asked him one question – and Jeffries gave the same two-word answer every single time.
The Moment Jeffries Fell Apart on Live TV
Kernen had Jeffries on Squawk Box Thursday and wasted no time going straight at him.
The issue: Darializa Avila Chevalier – the Mamdani-backed socialist who just obliterated five-term Democratic incumbent Adriano Espaillat in New York's 13th Congressional District.
Chevalier had deleted thousands of posts from her old Twitter account before the primary.
The Internet Archive found them anyway.
She called for abolishing police – not defunding, abolishing – clarifying in her own words that her vision "means ending policing full stop. Period. No more police at all ever."
She called America "a f—ing disgrace."
She tweeted that she wiped her hand on the American flag.
She declared "all deportation is wrong" – even for convicted murderers – a position she still holds today.
She refused to condemn Hamas.
And Kernen wanted to know: does Hakeem Jeffries think this is a positive development for New York politics?
Jeffries answered with two words.
"Donald Trump," he said.
https://twitter.com/bennpetersen/status/2070119311679627295?s=20
Kernen didn't let it go.
"I know it takes time from the interview," Kernen said, "but it doesn't really answer the question. It totally shifted from what we're talking about."
He kept pressing.
"When the Democrat Party includes someone in that tent that believes these things, I don't think any of those things are gonna solve what you just talked about," he added.
"You can't think this is a positive development in New York politics, can you?" Kernen pushed. "You need to reject those things, I think."
Jeffries said: "Donald Trump."
That was the entire answer.
The Gas Prices Lie That Blew Up in His Face
It got worse.
Jeffries came onto national television ready to hit Trump on gas prices.
"Prior to this reckless and costly war of choice being launched by Donald Trump, the price of gasoline was $2.98," Jeffries declared. "Right now, it is $4.20. That's the average price, right now, as of today."
Kernen stopped him cold.
"It's under 4."
CNBC put the AAA data on the screen as Jeffries was still talking.
$3.93.
"There's the national average, Hakeem," Kernen said. "It's $3.93. It's not $4.20."
The man who wants to lead House Democrats to a majority got caught lying about a number that was literally on the screen behind him.
The Socialist Who Deleted 3,600 Tweets Just Won Anyway
Democrats going into the 2026 midterms are carrying the worst fundraising numbers in a generation.
Republicans have the financial edge – and now Democrats are stuck defending candidates like Avila Chevalier in what should have been safe seats.
Here's the pattern that matters: the last time Democrats faced a socialist insurgency that cost them at the polls, they had Bill Clinton and the Democratic Leadership Council to pull the party back to the center.
That party no longer exists.
Zohran Mamdani – a self-described democratic socialist – is now the mayor of New York City and the most powerful kingmaker in the Democratic Party.
His hand-picked candidates swept the primaries this week.
Jeffries tried to stop them and failed.
Protesters outside were chanting "you're next" at Jeffries – and Kernen asked him directly whether he thought that was a problem.
Jeffries said: "Donald Trump."
Democrats in 1994 lost 54 House seats because Americans rejected a party that had drifted too far left.
They're doing it again, except this time the candidates calling for abolishing the police and opening the borders aren't losing primaries.
They're winning them.
And the man running the House Democrat Caucus can't bring himself to say a single critical word about any of it – because he's afraid of the same socialist mob that just ended three Democratic careers in one night.
Jeffries isn't leading the Democrat Party.
He's being swallowed by it.
Sources:
- Matt Vespa, "Hakeem Jeffries Got Cooked by This CNBC Host…and It Was Beautiful to Watch," Townhall, June 26, 2026.
- Daniel Turner, "Live TV Reality Check: CNBC Host Corrects Hakeem Jeffries Over Gas Price Claims," Tampa Free Press, June 25, 2026.
- "N.Y. Socialist Called for Eliminating Police, Prisons, and Israel. Now, She's Likely Headed to Congress," National Review, June 25, 2026.
- "Rising socialist stars on track to Congress: Who are Darializa Avila Chevalier, Brad Lander and Claire Valdez?" Fox News, June 25, 2026.
- "This Is Why Democrats Won't Oppose the Socialist Takeover of Their Party," The Daily Signal, June 24, 2026.
- "Will Socialism Sweep the Midterms?" American Thinker, December 18, 2025.