Listener supported WNYC Studios.

Brian Lairer on WNYC.

We'll talk to Brooklyn Congressman and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries in just a minute.

I wonder if we might even call him kind of the leader of the Democratic Party right now,

with Biden and Harris on their way out of power,

Chuck Schumer having lost his position as Senate Majority Leader in this election,

and no other clear Democratic Party leader like the Republicans obviously have Trump.

So we'll get Leader Jeffrey's take on why the election came out the way it did,

what new role he sees for the House Democratic minority now in the coming era of Republican control

of all three branches of government, and even

implications for his Brooklyn District and New York City generally with Mayor Adams playing

very nice with Trump right now on the prospect of mass deportation and other issues.

But Hakeem Jeffries also has a new book out.

It's an illustrated book for children and

adults called the ABCs of Democracy. It's based on part of the speech that Jeffries gave last year when he

first became minority leader. So before we have leader, Jeffries on live, here is that speech

excerpt. This is only a minute and 15 seconds, but follow along here.

Here's how you listen to this. He'll be going through the alphabet from A to Z, contrasting what he

thinks his party is for and against. House Democrats will always put American values over autocracy, benevolence over bigotry,

the Constitution over the cult, democracy over demagogues, economic opportunity

over extremism, freedom over fascism. Governing over gaslighting.

Hopefulness over hatred. Inclusion over isolation. Justice over judicial over

...