(CNN) The chairman of the House Democratic Caucus called President Donald Trump "the grand wizard of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue" during a Martin Luther King Jr. Day event Monday.

Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, a New York Democrat, compared Trump to a leader of the Ku Klux Klan during an event hosted by the National Action Network in New York.

"These are challenging times in the United States of America -- we have a hater in the White House, a birther in chief, the grand wizard of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue," Jeffries said. "One of the things that we've learned is that while Jim Crow may be dead, he still got some nieces and nephews that are alive and well."

Several other New York Democrats -- including Senate Minority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer, presidential candidate Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and Mayor Bill de Blasio -- also spoke at the event.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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