Hakeem Jeffries: Everything Trump Is Doing Is Racist
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries used his Sunday morning interview on CNN’s State of the Union to accuse President Donald Trump of racial motivations behind his latest policy decisions—ranging from museum exhibit reviews to redistricting support in Texas.
Jeffries took issue with Trump’s reported review of certain Smithsonian exhibits in Washington, D.C., accusing the president of trying to “whitewash” American history and erase the legacy of slavery.
“It’s extraordinary that he would make such a historically ignorant statement,” Jeffries said. “The Smithsonian should continue to hold the line and make sure that this very painful part of American history is not erased.”
House Democratic Leader @hakeemjeffries reacts to Trump’s review of the Smithsonian museums: Donald Trump is “behaving like a racial arsonist. ” pic.twitter.com/vJcH32CSFQ
— State of the Union (@CNNSOTU) August 24, 2025
Trump Targets Anti-White Messaging in Museums
While Jeffries portrayed Trump’s museum push as an attack on Black history, the White House clarified that the president is targeting exhibits that push divisive racial narratives—particularly those that paint foundational American values as inherently “white” or racist.
One exhibit flagged by the Trump administration at the National Museum of African American History and Culture had claimed that things like “the nuclear family,” “work ethic,” and “objective, rational linear thinking” are traits of “white dominant culture.” The president argued such framing was designed to vilify traditional American values and sow racial division.
Redistricting in Texas: Jeffries Blames Trump Again
The conversation also turned to redistricting efforts in Texas, where Jeffries once again invoked race, accusing Trump of orchestrating the map to disenfranchise voters.
“This is a racial, partisan gerrymander ordered by Donald Trump as part of an effort to rig the midterm elections,” he claimed, without citing specific evidence.
Jeffries has repeatedly leaned on racial framing to attack Republican policies, even as Trump continues to make inroads with minority voters across the country.