The Press Box - Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries on Iran, the Epstein Files, His Party’s 2026 Bumper Sticker, and the Best New York Rapper of All Time

Episode Date: March 6, 2026

Today on The Press Box, Bryan and Joel are joined by Hakeem Jeffries, the minority leader of the U.S. House of Representatives. First, Bryan and Joel ask him about what the Democrats can do to stop the war in Iran (01:46) before asking what a U.S.-Israel partnership should look like (05:13). Next, they talk about the Epstein files (11:05) and whether the Democrats can do anything to make Americans care more about Trump's ties to Epstein (14:16). After that, Jeffries is asked what form election interference could take in the midterms (25:13), and then he gives his take on whether ICE should be abolished (29:16). The show ends with Joel’s lightning round, where he asks Jeffries what the best Jay-Z album is (44:20), who the best New York rapper of all time is (46:17), and so much more, here on The Press Box. Hosts: Bryan Curtis and Joel Anderson Guest: Representative Hakeem Jeffries Producers: Isaiah Blakely and Bruce Baldwin Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello, media consumers. Welcome to Pressbox. It's Brian Curtis. It's Joel Anderson. It's producers Isaiah Blakely and Bruce Baldwin. Joel, we've got a very special guest on the old press box today. I mean, that's saying something because there has been a lot of special guests on here as a flight. Well, a lot of people have been saying that the road to 2028 goes through the press box.

You know what? I'm with that. I kind of think that. And I hope that that's, they're ringing that out at Capitol Hill. I hope they were talking about that at the combine. And we're one of the few podcasts where our podcasts might come up in both of those places. It's true. And if I only have one note about that, it's that the road to 2026 also goes through the press box,

or at least many people are saying that because today's guest is Democratic leader, Hakeem Jeffries. We got into a lot of stuff today. We talked about Iran. We talked about Israel. We talked about the Epstein files. We talked about Paramount and Warner Brothers Discovery. we talked about the best New York rapper of all time.

We talked about St. John's basketball. There's a lot there. Here is Democratic leader, Hakeem Jeffries. All right, Joel, let's bring in our guest. He is the Democratic leader of the U.S. House. He's the representative of New York's 8th District, and he's a graduate of Brooklyn's legendary Midwood High School. He is representative, Hakeem Jeffries.

Leader Jeffries, welcome to the press box. Great to be on with both of you. So let's start with Iran. The war is now in its sixth day. You've called it unconstitutional and illegal. What can your party do to try to stop it? Well, we're working on passing a war powers resolution that would require the president to immediately cease all hostilities in terms of the offensive activity that has taken place with launching missile strikes and a war as the president and the so-called secretary. of defense have characterized it without congressional authorization. The Constitution is very clear. Only one branch of government has the ability to declare war, and that's the Congress. And there's a reason for that, because the framers of the Constitution wanted to make sure that the people's

representatives on behalf of everyday Americans had an opportunity to actually debate these issues of war and peace to decide how our taxpayer dollars should be spent. from our standpoint, as Democrats, we shouldn't be spending billions of dollars to bomb Iran in an endless Middle Eastern War when we actually have an affordability crisis that's taken place in the United States of America. And unfortunately, my Republican colleagues aren't interested in spending a dime to actually drop grocery prices, drop the cost of going to see a doctor when you need them, drop housing costs, drop child care costs, or drop your electricity bill. Leader, you've spoken before about Israel's right to defend itself and its right to exist.

And obviously, Prime Minister Netanyahu said that U.S. involvement allows them to do what they've been wanting to do for 40 years, right? So Israel clearly feels this war is important to their security. Do you disagree? You know, it's interesting. I mean, I think that from the standpoint of Israel, this is also the case with Jordan, and this is also the case with the Gulf States, who, are our allies in varying degrees in terms of the Gulf State dynamic, but certainly that applies to Israel and Jordan, that they have concluded that Iran presents an existential threat to their existence.

Now, there's no doubt about it. Iran is a bad actor. They call the United States of America the great Satan. If they had the ability to try to do great damage to us, they would. But the question for us that we're considering, as members of the United States Congress, of course, we want to be there in the best possible way for our allies in the region, which include Israel and Jordan and the Gulf State countries, all of whom have come under attack by Iran as a result of what has unfolded over the last six days.

But we have a constitutional responsibility to make the decision as to whether the president has actually presented information that the national security of the American, American people is in jeopardy or at risk, particularly in the context of an imminent strike. And no information has been presented by the Trump administration that suggested that Iran was prepared to strike us or strike our interests, our bases, in the Middle East. And that's why we believe that this was unlawful. It was unauthorized, certainly, and does not meet the constitutional requirements of a preemptive strike, which is what took place in this instance.

When it comes to Iran, what should a U.S.-Israel partnership look like, do you think? Well, that remains to be seen. I think the administration has a responsibility to make the case to the American people as to why this kind of military action, which has now evolved into a full-scale war, is in the best interest of the American people. And absent that, our view, which is why we're advancing this war, power's resolution requiring that the activity ceased without congressional authorization, absent making the case to the American people, then this is not the appropriate way to

approach things. First of all, we're thankful, let me say, for the service and the sacrifice of all of our patriots, all of our men and women in uniform, all of our service members. And we, of course, are heartbroken by the loss of six of our heroes and our patriots who've lost their lives in Trump's war of choice. And we'll continue to stand with their families and all of our men and women in uniform. And we need to do that. But at the same time, right, we have a responsibility of making an informed decision about U.S. engagement in matters of war, particularly in the Middle East. where we've seen time and time again, most recently in Iraq and Afghanistan, that it has turned into a quagmire where thousands of lives, American lives, have been lost, and trillions of dollars

have been spent overseas, as opposed to being spent at home to make life better for the American people. So in the context of all of that, we're deeply skeptical, and I'm a hard yes on the war powers resolution, and it's going to be strong democratic support for it. And we're making the case to our Republican colleagues as to why a handful of them should join us. We know we'll have one or two. If we can get a handful of them, then we can actually pass this war powers resolution

and do something to sort of stop Donald Trump from engaging in this recklessness and force him to come before the American people to make his case. To that point, leader, is this war powers resolution, do you consider it symbolic or do you really believe it has a real chance of passing? It certainly has a real chance of passing in the House of Representatives. It's going to come down, we believe, to a handful of votes on the one side or on the other that remain undecided.

And then we've got to press our case in the Senate. and we believe that as things continue to develop, as the American people see this war go on, without any articulation by the president or by Secretary Rubio or anyone else, as to what the objectives of the war are, what's the actual plan to accomplish those objectives, and what's the end game

so that this doesn't become an endless war that results in a similar, outcome to what took place in Afghanistan and Iraq. Those are questions that we're going to continue to raise aggressively. I think for us, the first step is advancing this war powers resolution as it relates to the president and then keep the pressure on the administration to explain themselves to the American people. The war is already on the wrong side of public opinion.

And we're just at the outset of it. And so I think the pressure will intensify on the administration to either make their case persuasively to the American people or to get out. When Donald Trump was asked this week about who should rule Iran, he said most of the people we had in mind are dead. Who do you think should rule Iran going forward? That's part of the problem with these regime change wars. Now, certainly, I think it's important for us to morally support the democratic aspirations of the Iranian people who no longer want to live in fear and in tyranny. And that certainly is what has been the situation for the Iranian people since the revolution

took place in that country. And we've most recently seen the repression of the regime killing thousands, if not tens of thousands of Iranian citizens who had taken to the streets to protest the tyranny that they've been living under. At the same period of time, there's nothing in the Constitution, in my view, that requires the United States to be the policemen and women of the world. It's a very big globe. There are a lot of challenges that we face. It is important for us to continue to be, in my view, the leader of the free world. But that doesn't mean that we can just intervene militarily and then hope and pray that things work out in terms of what regime follows the regime that has been deposed.

And again, the reality is we've seen these regime changed efforts in the past. There was a regime change effort in Vietnam, a regime change effort in Libya, a regime change effort in Afghanistan that lasted 20 years. And the moment that American troops left the ground, the Taliban regime. turned and a regime change effort in Iraq that of course hasn't resulted in the emergence of a Western loving democratic society. So the weight of the evidence suggests that it's very complicated, particularly in the Middle East, but even in other parts of the world, but particularly in the Middle East, to try to force democracy and allyship on any sovereign country. That's going to be up to the Iranian people ultimately to decide what their future is like. We should support them morally and

figure out if there are other ways to be supportive. But having American troops on the ground or risking American lives, the president has not made the case to justify that kind of action. Let's talk about the Epstein files, because last week, numerous outlets reported that the Epstein files released by the Justice Department were missing files related to a woman who accused the president of assault. To your knowledge, why weren't those files released? Well, listen, what we've seen right now is about three million documents have been withheld, some of which apparently relate to the current president of the United States of America. And we're going to continue to press the case for full and complete disclosure and total compliance

with the law that Democrats forced Republicans to join us on to pass and ultimately get over to the Senate and then signed into law by Donald Trump. I think what we saw yesterday in the House Oversight Committee was a bipartisan effort led by Democrats to actually subpoena Pam Bondi, who's a horrible individual, as we've seen, and her testimony before the Judiciary Committee the other day was completely and totally disgraceful, embarrassed herself and the Department of Justice,

even further than they've already toxically embarrassed themselves. But we actually subpoenaed Pam Bondi successfully to come before the Congress and explain herself. Why have these documents been withheld? Who are you protecting? Why are you hiding things from the American people? And it's time to comply fully and completely with the law, which means the other three million documents that they are withholding need to be disclosed to the public. We're going to continue to support the brave and heroic and courageous survivors. who have led this effort, we stand behind them.

They're demanding full transparency and full accountability, and we're behind them completely. You know, I hope you can walk with me here for a second leader because we've talked about this, you know, this case on here for a number of episodes. And one thing that is sort of flummingcing, at least to me, is that this doesn't seem to be a scandal that's commensurate with like, the allegations, right? I felt like at any other point in my lifetime, any, like, just the hint of being tied to the world's most notorious pedophile would have been a fatal blow.

Like, you just wouldn't hear anything else. But yet and still, it just seems like the Republicans and the Trump administration are thugging it out. So I'm just sort of wondering, like, is there anything, do you ever, like, first of all, why do you think this is not a bigger scandal on that level? And they're like, is anything that you all could be doing to, like, make the American people care in a way that it doesn't seem that they do so far. Yeah, it's interesting. I mean, I do think that this has been one of the more enduring narratives and scandals of the Trump administration in an environment where, of course, things change day to day week to week.

And this has probably been one of the few issues that has had staying power. Now, again, I think that's because the survivors have pushed this forward in their demands for justice and transparency and accountability, and we're going to continue to stand behind them. Now, Donald Trump has clearly tried to bury this, but he's been unsuccessful. I think six to eight months ago, he said enough, it's over. But six to eight months later, we're still working on this issue.

And we're going to stay in their face until we get the resolution that the American people are demanding and that the American people deserve. And, you know, I think Trump is frustrated that his pedophile protection program that is being run by Republicans on Capitol Hill hasn't succeeded up until this point. It doesn't mean that they're going to relent, but we've got to continue to proceed with righteous indignation and commitment to the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. And that's our, that's our objective here. Let's talk about the midterms. Because I think if you talk to Democrats about 2016 and 2024, they'll tell you, we thought we were right on the issues.

But Donald Trump had a crisper bumper sticker message than we did. What's the Democrats bumper sticker message for November? Well, our focus is on three areas. The economy, health care, corruption. We want to drive down the high cost of living, fix our broken health care system, and clean up corruption. So we actually deliver a country that works for working families, everyday Americans and the American people, and is not a country designed to benefit the billionaire class. Because everything that we've seen from this administration at the end of the day, Donald Trump has promised the world. He keeps lying to the American people.

And we're not going to hesitate to point that out. He said he was going to lower costs on day one. Costs haven't gone down, costs have gone up. Healthcare costs, housing costs, child care costs, electricity. bills, grocery bills, all out of control, in part because of things that Donald Trump has done, like the Trump tariffs, which have increased costs on everyday Americans by thousands of dollars a year. So as candidate Trump, I'm going to lower cost on day one. President Trump is increasing your costs. And by the way, this is war is already increasing gas prices and electricity bills are going to follow shortly afterward.

it. Candidate Trump said when it comes to immigration enforcement, he's going to go after the worst of the worst. President Trump created a $75 billion slush fund for ICE in their one big ugly bill so that mass and untrained ICE agents can be unleashed on the American people, taxpayer dollars used to brutalize and in some cases kill American citizens or violently target law-abiding immigrant families. Trump said he's not getting us into any endless forever wars, particularly in the Middle East, and President Trump has done the exact opposite. So we got, you know, a twofold responsibility here, making clear the American people, y'all have been lied to repeatedly, and the evidence

is completely and totally clear. And then on the affirmative side, lay out our commitment to the view that in this country, you work hard, you play by the rules, you should be able to live an affordable life, a comfortable life, and the good life. That's what we're fighting for, to make sure that we can deliver to the American people, the good life. And we define that pretty clearly, five things. Good paying job, good housing, good health care, good education for your children, and when it's all said and done, a good retirement. That ain't too much to ask for in the United States of America, the wealthiest country in the history of the world. And that's the Democratic commitment to bring that about for every single America. I was listening for the bumper

sticker there. It sounds like y'all have been lied to. That's, if we're looking for a couple of words, it would fit in the slogan, that sounds like it right there. Well, to that point, and I'm not sure how far down the internet mud hole, you or your staff go. But the white nationalist streamer, Nick Fuentes, has disavowed his support of Trump and the GOP, and he's telling his followers to vote blue. And I actually, and I'm sorry about this, Brian. I got into a fight with your boy Tim Miller on Twitter last night.

I don't know if you saw it. It's talking about, you know, appealing to the MAGA folks or whatever, which I think is ridiculous on its face. But whatever. Nick Fuentes, do you accept his endorsement? no I can't rock with haters like that right who represent the ugly underbelly of the United States of America

now they they are starting to believe that they've been lied to Marjorie Taylor Green keeps making that point the whole thing was a lie I never thought I'd be quoting Marjorie Taylor Green but I am y'all with increasing frequency I do agree with her on that point the whole thing was a lie yeah and I laid out several parts of it

now we are going to work hard to compete you know, for, of course, energize the Democratic base, move swing voters, independence, right? And traditional Republicans in our direction. And anchor it, you know, around our view. Look, we're just committed to making your life better. Not the billionaires, not the special interests,

not the corporations who have been bending the need of Donald Trump and accountability is coming for them as well. We're just committed to making life better for every. everyday Americans. I mean, just, that's kind of one living in this moment for a second. What makes you or anybody, Democrat, think that Republicans, anybody that voted for MAGA in the last decade is somebody that you can pick off as a voter? Because I just remember when Kamala, the Vice President Kamala Harris,

had Liz Cheney on stage with her. And I was like, you're not winning no votes. you're not winning the Liz Cheney, you know, base. So why, like, do you really think that these people are convertible in any real way? Well, I think what you had in the 2024 election in particular, there were some casual Trump voters who actually believed it when he said, right?

Yeah. That he was going to focus on making their life better. He was going to focus on lowering costs on day one. That was his core promise. And, of course, he's done the exact opposite. Yeah. And so we saw voter. voter erosion amongst people who have traditionally in the past, you know, voted for Democrats,

including President Obama in 2008 and 2012, and even voted, of course, for then-Vice President Biden when he ran in 2020. And we lost a lot of those voters. And some of them were, you know, working-class voters, working-class white voters, and working-class voters of color. some black men, right, some members of the AAPI community, and certainly we saw erosion amongst the Latino vote. Now, over the last 14 months since January of 2025, Democrats have won every single meaningful election. No one has ever seen a streak like this.

We've won every single meaningful election. It doesn't mean that we can let our foot off the gas pedal. We can't. But a lot of those voters, and we just saw this in Texas the other day, are coming back over to us. They know they've been betrayed, and we're the only ones right now focused on affordability, and that's what unites Democrats across the country. The mayor of New York focused on affordability. The governor of New Jersey focused on affordability. The new governor of Virginia focused on affordability, and they are in different parts of the ideological family within the House Democratic umbrella, but all of us focused on driving down the high cost of living.

and we do believe that that's a message, authentic message, that has appeal to bring some of the voters who may have been Trump curious, but know the whole thing has turned into a disaster. Without getting to, I thought, and I know you can't say this, The people are stupid, and I think it's more likely that they're not going to vote. I know you can't say that. That's something I said, and I stand behind that. But I can't help but notice, leader,

that you borrowed a song off the Jay-Z Blueprint album as part of the Democratic pitch. saw the, you know, the takeover 2026, right? So first of all, and this is the thing we do here on this show, you know, I got to ask you, what's your favorite JZ song? Brian, you've had two weeks to come up with your favorite JZ song now. So if you want to contribute as well, you can't. I yield my time with the gentleman from you. Okay. All right. All right. Fine. I appreciate you yielding. You know, I'm going to go with an original classic off the reasonable doubt album, which, you know, is can knock the hustle. Okay.

All right. Okay. But the Jay-Z discography, I think I used the right word, is so extensive and incredible. And, you know, he's a legend, of course, and we're proud of the fact that he's from Marcy, from bedstide, Brooklyn. But I think I did borrow that take. I mean, Blueprint album was classic album. There's a lot of hits from that Ain't No Love. Yep.

And the heart of the city is also a classic for me. But can't knock the hustle because I think we're in a moment. We just got to keep hustling. Like we're in a more is more environment. And that inspires me in part to continue to do the work necessary to end this national nightmare that we're in the midst of right now. How many people didn't understand that reference when you put it out there though? Like there were a lot of people that were what are you talking about? What is the takeover at 2026?

Yeah, I think a lot of people, you know, were on Google and YouTube trying to figure it out. I may not have immediately gotten it, but, you know, blueprint, takeover, battle between Jay Z and Nazis. It's an all-time classic. I understood it immediately just for the record. Yeah, I know. Be Kanye fan. Produced by Kanye to beat on that song, too. While Democrats are working on this Iron Man streak that you talked about, there's been some fear that Trump and his allies could interfere in the midterms.

What form could election interference take? Yeah, it's a very important question. I think we're dealing with this on every level. Initially, they tried to gerrymander the possibility of a Democratic majority out of existence. I mean, this was extraordinary stuff. Trump told five states, beginning with Texas, go in there and get me, you know, a dozen to 15 different seats. We've stopped them. We've got to finish the job in that regard.

But that was an effort. That's a voter suppression effort, taking the form of we're going to change the map, change the rules in the middle of the game, so to speak, to make it impossible for you to win. And so that was voter suppression, election interference, exhibit A. Thankfully, we've stopped them on that. We've got to go finish the job, as I mentioned, in Virginia. We got a referendum in April, President Obama and Governor Spamberger came out to date in support of it. Vote yes on that referendum. Our message there is either the people of America can decide who's in the majority after the midterms or Donald Trump. And it's the people of America who should decide that's why we need fair maps across the

country. Second thing we believe they were going to try to do, of course, is just to intimidate voters at the polls, in part by Donald Trump making a decision that he's going to federalize the National Guard. And we saw this move in California. We saw this move in Illinois and we saw this move in Oregon. Thankfully, Democratic governors, Democratic Attorney Generals, we have a litigation. working group in the House led by Joan Noghous doing a great job partnering with civil rights groups and civil liberties groups and democracy protection groups. There was a lawsuit that was filed. It went all the way up to the Supreme Court. And in December, the Supreme Court, conservative Supreme Court ruled that Donald Trump does not have the emergency authority,

which is what he was claiming, to federalize the National Guard. We've taken that off the table. That was a big win for the American people. Because I, I think the fear was he was going to try to federalize these troops all over the country in blue states or in swing states where they are Democratic governors and unleashed these troops to intimidate voters when early voting began up until election day. And now absent explicit approval, which he will not get from these governors, Supreme Court has said, you ain't got the authority to do it. So then, of course, we're on to the next scheme, and we believe that this next scheme is to try to use his private security force, otherwise known as ICE, completely and totally out of control group of people. It's the reason why we are in a DHS shutdown right now because Republicans have refused to agree to the type of bold, transformative, meaningful, and dramatic reforms we are demanding in order for the Department of Homeland. and security funding bill to move forward. And I won't go through all of the demands, much of which we've talked about repeatedly in the public, but one of those demands is keep ICE out of sensitive

locations. And we've defined that as schools, houses of worship, hospitals, and polling sites. We want an explicit prohibition that ICE can go nowhere near any polling sites in the United States of America. It's one of our demands. We're not going to bend on it because we think that, you know, one of the final desperate acts that he'll attempt to engage in, since he can no longer use the National Guard to do this, is to deploy ICE. And, you know, we're in that fight until we win that fight, and we will win that fight on behalf of the American people. Since you mentioned ICE, let me follow up there, because a UGov poll that came out this week said that 77% of Democrats support abolishing ICE, 52% of independent support the same thing.

Should ICE be abolished in your mind? Yeah, I think our view is, or at least my view, is what can we accomplish now? And in my view, that's dramatic reform. And we've spelled that out in significant ways. And what we've said is, look, judicial warrants should be required before ICE can break into your home or your private property. Period, full stop. The Fourth Amendment is not an inconvenience. It applies to ICE. That's not the current position of the administration. It's a demand that we're not going to walk away from. We've also said that when ICE agents break the law, they should be held accountable by state and local officials. And we've made that

demand because we know that the Department of Injustice, currently run by Pam Bondi, has zero interest in holding ICE agents accountable or DHS agents accountable who break the law. And that includes those who killed in cold blood, Renana Coldgood and Alex Pretty. And so the only way to get accountability and to make sure that these ICE agents don't think that they can engage in violent impunity on the streets of America is to explicitly use this moment that we're in right now to make sure that when ICE agents break the law, state and local officials can both criminally investigate them and criminally prosecute them. Because in part, if you obtain a conviction, Donald Trump can't ride in and pardon you if it's a state crime. And one of the reasons why we believe

currently some of these agents are behaving with such impunity is because they think at the end of the day they'll never be prosecuted. And if they're prosecuted, they'll never be convicted. And if they're convicted, they'll get parted. And we need to take that off the table because I'm not a our view is I should behave like every other law enforcement agency in the country. Last point that I'd make is that, look, we're working hard, bold, dramatic, meaningful, transformational change. We recognize that interior immigration enforcement is a necessity in this country. The problem is the Trump administration broke its word. They said they were going to go after violent criminals who are here illegally. The American people overwhelmingly support.

that, Democrats, independents, and Republicans. But that's not what the Trump administration has been doing. Taxpayer dollars are being used by ICE to brutalize and kill American citizens or violently target law-abiding immigrant families. We've got to put an end to that. And that's what we're trying to do right now. So that ICE conduct itself like every other law enforcement agency in the country and interior enforcement of immigration is fair and just and humane. Leader Jeffries, I got to ask a question after this, but man, I just, I'm surprised that you believe that reform is going to work here because, I mean, you and I know, I mean, we've seen like even with police departments, you know, that are under, you know, the under agreements with the Justice Department and how difficult it is to get them to respond to that stuff. And there's, I mean, another piece of this with ICE is that like, they mean, they hired a bunch of just dudes, you know what I mean? Like, they're just, like, the idea that they're going to go through a form, it just doesn't seem likely a plausible, right? Because we can't even get cops who, like, theoretically have a certain kind of training and a certain kind of commitment to the public good and public safety.

These dudes are just a bunch of guys that they just hired. Well, yeah, that's a great point. I appreciate you raising that because I didn't go through all of the different demands and there was a total of 10 that we put out there. And of course, within that is, listen, everybody's got to go through criminal back-arm checks. The agents who are untrained or poorly trained, you're gone, you're done. You're off the force. You're finished. Right.

And, you know, I think the way we're looking at this funding battle, and that's the moment that we're in, right, when Republicans control the House, the Senate, and Donald Trump is president. And so the point of engagement for us is, should DHS be funded or should be funded or should be? should it not? And our position has been, no, it's not going to move forward with democratic support unless these changes in this moment with this guy as president, right, are ironclad and built into the law that are designed to be bold, dramatic, meaningful, and transformational, and to deliver real accountability. Because I do think at the end of the day, when you asked the question, and obviously that involves body cameras on, mask off, whole host of things. Dramatic overhaul. Now, and then we'll see, right, whether we can save lives in this moment

because we feel the responsibility to try to save lives in this moment. You know, so recently Axel's and some other outlets reported that the party's autopsy of the 2024 election concluded that Vice President Harris lost a lot of support, because of the Biden administration's approach to the war in Gaza. And there was also this recent poll, you know, it's just one, but it's meaningful, showed that more Americans sympathize with Palestinians in the Middle East conflict now, which is a real change over the past few years. How were you and the Democrats prepared to respond to that change in public sentiment?

Well, I think my position, you know, has held from the moment that I came to Congress, which is when I look at the situation in the Middle East, you've got, Israel and you've got the Palestinian community. And Israel has a right to exist, in my view, as a Jewish and democratic state and safety and security. At the same time, we've got to lift up the Palestinian aspirations for self-government and dignity. And the best way to do that, in my view, is that we have to have an authentic commitment. It's not going to come from Donald Trump, but we actually need to have an authentic commitment to truly arriving at a just and lasting peace.

And ultimately, the only way to get there is a two-state solution. With a safe and secure Israel, living side by side, with a Palestinian state, where the Palestinian people can bring to life their legitimately held and passionate beliefs in living in self-government, prosperity, and dignity for their children. children, grandchildren, and generations to come. And that it's going to require American leadership to be able to bring that about. Won't be easy. Many presidents have tried and not succeeded.

Most recently, of course, efforts by President Obama, led by Secretary Kerry, where we probably have come the closest that we've been in the last 15 or 20 years to get to a place where there was a real problem. path for the two-state solution. But I think that's the only way for us ultimately to be able to proceed and to create a situation where you have true peace and prosperity for all people, the Palestinian people and the Israeli people in the region. But don't you think people are sort of asking for a harder line on like money to Israel, the funding and everything? Because I mean, now they're, I mean, they've got everything they've ever wanted. Like this is a dream world for

for prime minister in Netanyahu. So, you know, people are probably going to want to see the people that caught, you know, if you believe this report cost the election for Democrats in 2024. So like, do you think that's actually going to be enough to be responsive to that, that need about getting a handle on our relationship with Israel? Well, I think what caught, you know, what's interesting is I think what actually cost us, you know, the election, most people, and I believe that that after-action report, which I have not seen, but have been briefed on. to some degree in terms of the top line. And I do urge full transparency as it relates to it.

I think it's helpful. We are winning elections at this point. We can still learn from the mistakes that have been made in the past or the mistakes that were made in 2024. But clearly, Donald Trump was able to convince the American people that he was actually focused on their economic well-being, not us. And also, we had challenges, let's be honest, with the issues at the board. border. And that's not just amongst Republican-leaning voters. There were Democratic-leaning voters. There were people of color, particularly men, who came to the conclusion that the situation at the border got out of control. We need order at the border. I'm in full and complete agreement

with that. That was a challenge that Donald Trump weaponized. Now, he never intended to do anything meaningful as it relates to making life better for the American people. And unless we get that issue right, which we've been working on, being very clear in our commitment to actually improve the economic well-being of the American people, we're going to struggle to win elections moving forward. Now, as it relates to foreign policy issues, whether that's on Ukraine, whether that's in the Middle East, whether that's the current war in Iran, the American people, understandably, are deeply skeptical of military engagement directly, or as it relates to our country, our allies because they want their problems fixed.

And part of the reason why we're in this battle right now as it relates to Republicans in the Trump administration, where we're saying this is a war of choice, you're spending billions of dollars in all likelihood a day to drop bombs in the Middle East, no plan or vision to actually make the American people safer, no actual objective in terms of how do you get out of this in a way that improves things in the middle of. lease and for the American people, most importantly, and no explanation as to why you can find billions for war while at the same time ripped a trillion dollars away from Medicaid are causing health care to be taken away from millions of Americans. And that same one big ugly bill,

by the way, enacted the largest cut to nutritional assistance snap in American history. And you did all of that to give your billionaire donors massive tax breaks while in the same bill giving ICE a $75 billion slush fund. So listen, there are a lot of ways for us to draw contrast with the disaster and failure that has been the Trump administration, Donald Trump, and the Republicans. We're going to continue to do that at the same period of time, I think we've got to, as you all have asked, affirmatively and aggressively articulate a vision anchored in how we improve

the quality of life for the American people and that's our commitment as Democrat that's core to us. That's in our DNA. That's who we are. I grew up in a working class union household in Crown Heights coming of age in the middle of the crack cocaine epidemic. That's us right? And we're committed to

doing a better job of making sure that the American people understand. I want to ask you about a couple of media stories really quickly before Joel gets to his patented lightning rounds. Last week, Paramount announced it was acquiring Warner Brothers Discovery. That means Paramount is going to have control of both CBS News and CNN.

Senator Chris Murphy reacted by saying that when Democrats get back in power, they'll break up what he called a news monopoly. Do you support breaking up companies like the combined Paramount Water Brothers Discovery? Well, I'm not sure that the merger should even be allowed, so let's start there. And I think that part of the advocacy

for us has got to be, what is the rationale, how is this lawful, how does this meet the requirements under antitrust laws to even allow it to move forward? Now, obviously, it's going to fall to the Trump administration and we'll have litigation tools available to the American people to pursue, as we've repeatedly been doing, most recently, leading to the success of striking down the Trump tariffs. So in my view, let's not assume this is a done deal, right? We should be all hands on deck, 10 toes down, to try to stop it from happening. And then we can cross that bridge when we get to it. But we've got public sentiment, we believe, on our side. We can't allow the Trump cartel to continue to acquire media properties, right?

It's not going to work out for the American people. And we know that Donald Trump wants to create state-run media or its effective equivalent, which is why he's tried to intimidate networks and cable companies. By the way, it's also one of the reasons why new media, the stuff that you all do, is incredibly important in reaching the American people. And we've seen a rise in the importance of new media. And I happen to believe that's a good thing for our democracy. All right.

Finally, part of your job as leader is to let yourself be chased by reporters down the hallways of the Capitol. I'm going to name a couple of reporters here, and I want you to give me the first thought that goes through your head when you see one of these reporters lurking and waiting for you. CNN's Manu Raju. Manu's going to be quick with some question related to news of the day, and he's a smart guy, but he's going to try to jam you up at all times. Punch Bulls, Jake Sherman.

You know, Jake is going to, you know, want to articulate sort of the back-and-forth leadership dynamics between us and Mike Johnson and, you know, the maneuvering that's occurring and the positioning, you know, for the midterm elections. But both Manu and Jake, they're fair, right? Tough, which is fine. Reporters should be tough, but they're both fair. Finally, Chad Pergram from Fox News.

I mean, Chad's a good guy. And I can't tell. Sometimes he wants to ask me about the Yankees. And, you know, that's all fine and well the Knicks. But usually he's not going to ask me about the Yankees or the Knicks unless they lost the previous. night. But otherwise, listen, I know, Chad, listen, I know you're rocking with, you're with Fox, and, you know, it's going to be a right-leaning kind of narrative question, but he always does, you know, ask it, I think, within the bounds of what's acceptable. All right, leader, I got

this lightning around for you here. We're going to get into it. I'm going to ask you to make some very tough decisions here. Are you ready? I'm ready. Ready as I'll ever be. Okay. That's right. All right. Three, two, one. So you mentioned already that you were kind of a reasonable doubt guy. But what is the best JZ album? Black album. Oh, okay.

What's your favorite cut off the black album? You know what? I mean, I think that I'm going to give you two if that's okay. Oh, please. Which I think is actually the first song and the last song. Oh. So, right? I mean, the first song that I think appears on the album after the,

prelude is December 4th, which is his birthday. I love December 4th, right? Because it just shows the trajectory of his journey, how he started, the challenges that he confronted, what emerged as he transitioned from, you know, the drug game to the hip-hop game, right? And his evolution, I mean, I thought that was incredible. And then I think the last song that appears on the album, which is called My First song, as you know, I think also is incredible.

And it begins with advice from Biggie. right about you know hustling and how to be successful and the different transitions that jZ has and at that moment as he was transitioning out of hip hop into you know business endeavors and and so i mean i just think that the black album uh is is the most introspective in totality and of course it's laced with beats from some of the best producers okay well you didn't okay you said most introspective. I thought when you say that, people are going to be surprised if you say Black Albums, is that over a 4-44-4 album?

Well, yeah, that's a good point. But I'm talking about, like, you know, Jay-Z first iteration, right? I mean, when, you know, Jay-Z, like, after, you know, when Jordan left after the first free-tenture. Yeah, right. Right. Okay. Yeah. Pre-retirement.

That's fair. That's fair. Okay. Brian, by the end of the show, we'll hope to have your Jay-Z's submission here. We've named even a few songs for you. Okay, this is another lightning round question here, Leader. Who's the best mayor of New York City in your lifetime? That's a good question. I mean, listen, I'm going to go with David Dinkins because I think he was the first person

that I've ever voted for. And David Dinkins doesn't get a lot of credit for the things that he was able to do. It was David Dinkins that turned Times Square around. Yeah. It was David Dinkins that passed Safe Street, Safe Cities. in the middle of the crack cocaine epidemic that actually began the trajectory

of the downward spiral of crime in the city of New York, which actually began during the last two years of the Dinkins administration, not the first two years of the Giuliani administration, even though Rudolph Giuliani is the one who always gets the credit. But it was Dave Dinkins.

And it was Dave Dinkins, who I think inspired a whole generation of elected officials like myself and others, certainly Jesse Jackson falls into this category and other historic figures before that, like Shirley Chisholm, whose district I now in part represent. But, you know, it was Dave Dinkins who was sort of the mayor for me when I first came of age. And obviously, his time in office was short-circuited. He didn't get a second term. There was a lot that he wasn't able to get to.

But I think there's a lot that is underappreciated about what he's been able to do. That's what so. Okay. That's a good question. I told you, Brian. I told you who's going to be Jenkins. What's your favorite place to hang out in Brooklyn? My favorite place to hang out in Brooklyn.

You know what? I'll say, I actually, I enjoy, you know, I grew up in the Cornerstone Baptist Church. And there's nothing like the Black Church experience. And, you know, I don't worship at Cornerstone every Sunday now because of my congressional responsibility. So I'm all over the Congressional District. But every Sunday that I'm in home, I'm in church.

Okay. And every Saturday that I'm at home, I'm in the SDA church, interacting with the people that I'm privileged to represent, but also being spiritually fulfilled. And as certainly needed, faith is an important part of my journey. And it's desperately needed, I think, for all Americans in different ways, whatever your faith perspective may be. But it's important right now during these very challenging times. So I'd say, listen, in church on a Sunday, for me, is a, is a, is. is a happy space. Now, absent that, I would say at the Barclays Arena,

when the Knicks are playing in Barclays, okay. Putting the foot in that, you know what. Man, you know, I don't even want to talk about the 94 finals there because I know that would hurt you. I'm a Houstonian, so, but no, but now that sounds cool. I used to live in that part of Brooklyn, too. Be careful here.

Best New York rapper of all time. You know what? Listen, I got to go with the late great, notorious B-I-G. And I just think that. And there's so many legends, obviously, Jay-Z, of course. L-L-Koo-J is on the list. I mean, I've got love for L-L-Koo-Jay. There's Raq Kim.

Naz, of course, is incredible. You know, Big Daddy Kane. I mean, there's such a great list of Wu-Tang Clan. I mean, when the Wu-Tang Clan drop, I was like, yo, they're black people in Staten Island. I had zero because I was you know most of us

we ain't crossing the Arizona bridge yeah yeah yeah yeah we were concerned and then you realize oh the woo dropped and so I mean

but I just think that when Biggie came out it was at a moment where East Coast hip hop was on its heels yeah right because you had the rise

of Dre and Snoop and Defro and they were doing their thing they're killing it they're some of my favorite artists as well certainly Tupac. And, but, but the East Coast was on his heels. And then a new generation emerged, right?

And I named many of them and it was Nas and it was Mob Deep and it was Wu-Tang Clan and the Fugis came out, Jay-Z a couple years later, DMX, right? Another great artist. Yeah, yeah. But it was really biggie who got it all started in terms of the turnaround. And that plus the combination of just his lyrical skill, his storytelling ability, his authenticity. Yeah.

He went from negative to positive, inspiring, right? Yeah. So I think that breaks the time for me. You could have really fucked their heads up if you had said Tupac. Because Tupac is, you know, Tupac's first name was MC New York,

by the way. Yeah, yeah, right. That's right. That's right. Yeah, I couldn't go that far. I definitely put Tupac easily in the top three, top five.

Okay, there you go. There you go. I heard you're sitting John's fan. So I'm going to ask you to do a start, bench cut of these three players, okay? Start bench cut. Walter Berry, Mark Jackson, Chris Mullen. I'm starting all three.

Oh, man, you can't do that. No, hold on, hold on, hold on. Well, let me just say, let me just say, because I became, see, you gave me one generation of ball players. Yeah, man, yeah. And Felipe Lopez, now, we'll throw him in there. No, because I was going to do run our test,

Felipe Lopez, that's too easy because you're going to put the 80s guy, the Karnaseka guys up there. Well, the Karnasek of guys. But are you saying amongst the three, I can just start, bench, or cut one of them? Yeah, amongst these three, you got to start one of them. You got to bench one of them. And you got a, oh, I got it. Oh, okay, I got.

That's a hard question. Okay. I was saying, I mean, I would start Chris Mullin. I mean, because, you know, I mean, he, you know, is Chris Mullen. And, and, by the way, he's from Brooklyn. That's right. That's right. Very in high school.

And so, you know, I'm rocking with you. Chris Mullen. Jackson played in Brooklyn, Bishop Lockland, but he was from Queens. I'll bench Mark Jackson. Now, by the way, on that famous Final Four team, as you all recall, he was on the bench, right? He didn't start. He started in the two years afterward, but he was amazing. But so I'm just, I'm keeping him on the bench because he was on the bench. Okay. In terms of that Final Four team. And I hate the bench the truth. I hate the bench the truth or cut him. But, you know, if I'm being given those choices,

and he was amazing, and he carried the team the next year, even though I think they got eliminated in the round of 32, and that was terrible because they were also, I think, a top one or two seed the year after. Chris Mullen and Wendington, and that crew left. But I think if I had to cut anyone, you know, it would be Walter Berry. The left-handers game was incredible.

obviously his NBA career wasn't necessarily what we had all hoped it would be. But he's a good man. But if given the choice, I think that's what I'd have to do. Last question. I'm being told you got to go after this. So last question, it can be yes and no response. Do you think America will ever elect another black president again in our lifetime? Yes.

It won't be me. I'm running for re-election. And we're trying to hold down the House of Representatives. But I do believe certainly it will be the case sooner rather than later. It's not going to take another 250 years. We're in our 250th year right now. Yes, I do believe it will. I got to be honest.

I hope I'm gone by then. All right, leader, Jeffries, I'm going to put together my Jay-Z power rankings. We'll hit you with those when you come back next time. Thanks so much for coming on the press box. Thank you both. Look forward to it. All right. Back with Brian and Joel.

Joel, what stood out to you about that interview? that you still don't have a JZ song. No, I was going to say where I'm from. I just got cut off. Oh, okay. Man, you know what? That's underrated classic right there. You know, which stood out the most?

I think we asked him about Gaza, and I'm just kind of surprised. I guess I'm not surprised because he's, you know, one of those guys that takes money from APEC. He's been pretty clear on his relationship with Israel. I thought that maybe I thought maybe there might be a thaw in that and I think the other thing is the idea that they just don't want to ban ice or cut ice like you know what I mean like I just that that's for later that's for later I just you know I think reform is is a pipe dream but whatever

what did you take what was your your big takeaway well the Gaza answer was really interesting and I think we might see more clarity on that as we get toward 2028 rather than 2026 you like Evan Newsom's comments this week, right? You're going to have a single candidate or a bunch of candidates, you know, duking it out for the nomination and maybe there'll be more clarity and engagement with that question. I'd also throw in the comments about Paramount and Warner Brothers Discovery saying, hey, forget breaking it up. Why does it have to, what does that deal have to go through right now?

I throw that in my list of interesting things that were said. And the bumper sticker question. Democrats, why did Democrats always struggle with bumper stickers? It's tough. Because he's outlining everything. And then he gets to the y'all were lied to. And I was like, that's it. They can give you a little money for that, man.

I was like, that's the bumper sticker right there because that covers everything you said. Yeah. Whether it's wars of choice in the Middle East, whether it's the affordability question, whatever you may think, that's it. Boom, we're done, right? You see, it's just funny when we think about Trump's ability to seize on little things like that. and just repeat them over and over and over again. And then the Democrats who, you know, take a very,

they just take a different approach to matters like that way. Van Ponder. Well, I mean, the thing is that they're interested in precise answers a little bit more, I think. And I think that, you know, for better or worse, Republicans have figured out that, like, brevity is just important. And, like, symbolism, right? Like, especially symbolism.

Like, that's a big part of it as well. And yeah, but hey, man, if we see y'all using y'all will lie to out there and you don't give my boy Brian credit. I just, I just took a rough draft and circled one sentence and said, can we move this to the top? If you all don't give him credit, come down, meet me at Wegmans and Columbia, Maryland. I'll let you know that I had a problem with it. All right, that's the press box. He's Joel Anderson. I'm Brian Curtis.

Productions Magic by Isaiah Blakely and Bruce Baldwin. Thank you, gentlemen. coming up next week on the press box it's David it's Joel it's me with more lukewarm takes about the media see you then Joel look forward to it man