Jeffries responds to criticism for defense of uncle in the early 1990s

At his weekly press conference on Thursday, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., responded to criticism about a college editorial he wrote in 1992 defending his uncle Leonard Jeffries, who was accused of antisemitism, saying, “I do not share any of the controversial views that were expressed by my uncle more than three decades ago.”

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- Republicans are going after you in a new ad. They're going after the op ed you wrote in college defending your uncle and the comments you made about Black conservatives. Do you stand behind the arguments you made in that op ed? And do you stand behind the comments your uncle has made about Jewish people?

HAKEEM JEFFRIES: Well, first of all, I think I've made clear, consistently, that I do not share any of the controversial views that were expressed by my uncle more than three decades ago-- not now, not ever.

And equally significant, as I've said, my track record in public service and professionally for more than two decades of bringing people together and standing up for every single community, including the Black and Jewish communities that I proudly represent in Brooklyn, speaks for itself.