D-Day anniversary

Democratic leader on D-Day anniversary pushes back on Trump calling US a fascist state

From CNN's Liz Brown-Kaiser

US House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries on Thursday used the 80th anniversary of D-Day to push back on Donald Trump's claim that America is a "fascist state" following his recent felony conviction in New York.

"Well, America is a democracy ... and we have to fight to make sure that we can keep that going forward," Jeffries told Kasie Hunt from Normandy, France on "CNN This Morning."

"The fight against fascism was waged by our brave American heroes ... 80 years ago today, which began the liberation fight at the highest level against Nazi Germany, Hitler and fascism," he continued. 

Jeffries, the top House Democrat, added that "nobody ever wants to go back to where we were on those very, very dark days in world history and again, I think we can draw strength from that resilience." 

He urged that democracy "doesn't simply run on autopilot" and that today's events in Normandy, where the president is meeting with veterans, represent an "important recommitment to the principles of democracy."

Jeffries said he's "confident" that the American people will "pull together" in ways that are consistent with the founding principles of the United States. He also stressed that in the context of the war between Russia and Ukraine today, "we can draw strength from the incredible resilience" that D-Day veterans showed nearly a century ago and maintain a "rules-based society" in the world.