Hakeem Jeffries dodges questions on socialists chanting ‘you’re next’ at him

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (DY) avoided directly answering questions about socialist candidates and their supporters and said he was “next in line” in Thursday’s primary.

Days after the state’s primary, Jeffries was asked about New York social activist Darializa Avila Chevalier, who has joined anti-Israel protests, called for prison abolition and called the United States a “fucking disgrace.”

“His views are clearly not my views, and that should be obvious to everyone in terms of what brings Democrats together,” Jeffries said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.” “Listen, we believe we need to bring down the high cost of living. We need to find solutions to this economic crisis. This is not a scam. There are too many people in this country who work too hard. They play by the rules and they can’t thrive. In fact, they can barely survive. This is unacceptable in the richest country in the history of the world.”

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Jeffries then continued to attack President Donald Trump and the Republican Party, but host Joe Kernen interrupted, urging him to stay on topic.

“We all agree with what you just said, but it’s a complete departure from whether the Democratic Party includes anyone in that tent who believes those things. I don’t think any of that is going to solve the things you just mentioned or answer any of our problems that you’ve described so eloquently,” Kernen said.

He added, “They were saying ‘you’re next’ about Hakeem Jeffries. ‘You’re next, you’re next, you’re next.’ You can’t think of this as a positive development for New York politics, can you? And, you know, they’ll say, ‘Dems will be Democrats’ or something like that. “I don’t understand how you can say that.”

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“First of all, I flatly rejected them. That’s number one. Second, my record speaks for itself. This is not a ‘Dems will be Democrats’ situation. Donald Trump is now the President of the United States. Are you kidding?” Jeffries replied.

Supporters of the socialist New York candidates were seen chanting “You’re next” in front of a picture of Rep. Hakeem Jeffries on Tuesday night. (Daniel Heuer/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

He repeated that his focus is on “putting an end to this national nightmare” caused by Trump and rising costs. Kernen then asked about concerns that far-left candidates could deter people from the Democratic Party.

Jeffries emphasized that voters will have more trouble with the failures of the Republican Party, but returned to concern about socialist candidates.

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“The reality is, there are primaries. There are 435 members of the House of Representatives. And am I going to agree with every member on the Democratic or Republican side on every issue? Of course not. But, you know, there are members who are about to enter Congress right now who I have a long history of working with,” Jeffries said.

Fox News Digital has reached out to Jeffries’ office for comment.

Three socialist candidates won Tuesday night’s primary, defeating candidates backed by the Democratic establishment, including Jeffries. Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) members Darializa Avila Chevalier and State Assemblywoman Claire Valdez, as well as progressive Democrat and former DSA member Brad Lander, have a clear path to Congress after victories in heavily blue districts.

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In response to the wins, Valdez’s supporters were seen chanting “you’re next” on a television screen showing Jeffries on Tuesday.

Fox News’ Peter D’Abrosca contributed to this report.