Ritchie Torres

United States representative from New York.

Case

Were Rula Jebreal’s remarks about Hakeem Jeffries racist?

During a September 2, 2026 appearance on The Left Hook, Rula Jebreal described House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries as a “bought and paid by AIPAC monkey” and “basically an errand boy,” while immediately denying racial intent. Jebreal later apologized for the terms. The Congressional Black Caucus and several lawmakers characterized the wording as racist, while Wajahat Ali and Joy-Ann Reid emphasized intent and surrounding context while also criticizing the language.

RacismU.S. PoliticsUpdated

Statements by Ritchie Torres

Ritchie Torres

Role at the time: United States representative

Condemned

Responding to

Jebreal’s use of “monkey” and “errand boy” to describe Jeffries was racist anti-Black language regardless of her stated intent.

"Calling a Black man a “monkey” is racist. Full stop."
Why we used this label

The statement directly and unequivocally classifies the language as racist.

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