Fact-Check: Did 'Squad' Members Threaten Violence Over Debt Ceiling Talks?

By Johnathan Jones May 23, 2023 at 12:53pm

A Republican congressman suggested that Democratic Rep. Pramila Jayapal issued a veiled threat of political violence in comments about President Joe Biden’s negotiations with House Republicans on the debt ceiling.

Here’s what she said.

Jayapal told CNN that if Democrats are not allowed to go on spending the country’s future away unimpeded, things might get ugly.

“I think there would be a huge backlash from our entire House Democratic caucus, certainly the progressives,” she said outside the Capitol on Monday. She added, “But also in the streets.”

The country saw what Democratic backlash in the streets looked like throughout 2020, so Jayapal’s threat — if that’s what it was — should be taken seriously.

Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez shared a similar sentiment with CNN, saying that if Biden agrees to cap spending and add work requirements for some welfare programs, “it’s going to be a problem.”

Rep. Pramila Jayapal: There will be “a huge backlash…in the streets” if the White House agrees to spending cuts. pic.twitter.com/W0kgsN0EAz

— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) May 23, 2023

AOC is, of course, the face of the so-called “squad” of progressive House Democrats. Jayapal is not usually considered a member of that far-left club, but she is certainly aligned with it as chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.

Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz said Jayapal’s message on Monday was a coded threat of violence.

Imagine being willing RIOT for your federal benefits, but not WORK! https://t.co/rKfE4RknUe

— Matt Gaetz (@mattgaetz) May 23, 2023

CNN reported that Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy are not close to a deal on the debt ceiling as the U.S. approaches the date when it will default on its debts. That could come as soon as next Thursday.

Republicans are asking for sensible cuts in spending, which skyrocketed after Biden was inaugurated and throughout the first two years of his term when his party had a majority in the House.

Now, there are some adults in the room who want to ease back on the country’s blank-check policy toward everything.

McCarthy and other Republicans want work requirements for some who receive welfare payments and a 1 percent growth cap on federal spending over the next decade.

The U.S. has experienced record inflation while Biden and his allies have printed money out of thin air. We’re also currently funding what could prove to be a global war in Ukraine.

As of Tuesday morning, the U.S. was roughly $31.8 trillion in debt. That’s more than the country’s entire GDP.

Jayapal is apparently not content with the default or the prospect of a third world war; she also wants to foment civil conflict, if her comments are taken in the context of what we saw in 2020.

As we learned after the death of George Floyd in Minnesota three years ago this month, Democrats are very serious about taking their anger to the streets.

People have paid for such anger with their lives.

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