House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) is hammering President Trump over the clashes in Los Angeles, saying the president is purposefully escalating tensions to distract the country from a volatile economy.

Speaking to reporters in the Capitol, Jeffries railed against Trump’s aggressive deportation policies and defended the rights of Americans to protest such government actions — if it’s done peacefully.

He accused Trump of “fanning flames and inciting things on the ground” to distract from a domestic policy agenda that Jeffries has dubbed “a failure.”

“Donald Trump is clearly trying to distract from the fact that he has a failed administration,” Jeffries said.

The Democratic leader also dismissed Trump’s argument that, by intervening in the........

© The Hill