President Donald Trump is back to taking shots at New York Attorney General Letitia James, demanding that she be kicked off a sexual assault investigation at Cornell University.
But James had a message of her own when she took the fight to a historic Black church in New York City.
Speaking at Abyssinian Baptist Church on Sunday, Oct. 11, James called out Trump’s ‘dog’ insults and urged congregants to stand against racism ahead of the midterm elections.
Her remarks drew applause as she connected the controversy to broader concerns about voting rights and racial equality.
“The president yesterday called me a dog,” James told the crowd. “The Republican who is running for the state of New York called me a really racist word yesterday.”
She said she attended the church’s Men’s Day service to call on the congregation to stand against racism in New York.
James then shifted her attention to the importance of voting, reminding attendees that previous generations fought and died to secure that right.
She urged them to make their voices heard at the ballot box and not let political divisions discourage them from participating in the democratic process.
“I’ve come here today to remind all of you of the precious right to vote and how our ancestors died for that right,” she said.
James described voting as a form of peaceful resistance to efforts she believes deepen racial and other divisions among Americans. She also criticized policies she linked to family separations and the detention of children, urging congregants to make their opposition known on Election Day.
The appearance followed a series of public attacks by Trump against James, a frequent target of his criticism.
In a Tuesday post on Truth Social, Trump questioned her credibility, called her a “dirty and disgusting cop,” and demanded that New York Gov. Kathy Hochul remove her from a criminal investigation involving allegations of sexual assault at Cornell University.
“How can ‘New York State Attorney General,’ Letitia James, be allowed to investigate the Cornell rape scandal, when she is a DIRTY AND DISGUSTING COP herself and has ZERO credibility?” Trump wrote.
He argued that James’ involvement would undermine any decision in the case and urged Hochul to replace her with someone he described as not being a “Third Rate, Crooked Politician.”
Trump had also targeted James during a public appearance of his own in New York before the church event. Speaking about the upcoming election, he urged New Yorkers to vote Hochul and James out of office, again calling the attorney general a “dog.”
Trump told his crowd of supporters, “And on Election Day, New Yorkers should tell Hochul and that disgusting Letitia, dog — she’s a dog — you’re fired. Get the hell outta here, you’re fired.”
The feud between Trump and James predates his latest remarks.
James pursued a civil fraud case against Trump and his company that resulted in a judgment exceeding $450 million in 2024, making her a recurring target of his public criticism.
However, a New York appeals court overturned the financial penalty in August 2025 while upholding the finding that Trump and his company were liable for fraud.
More recently, federal efforts to bring criminal charges against James have faced legal and procedural setbacks.
As previously reported, a federal judge tossed the initial bank fraud indictment after ruling that the government had unlawfully appointed interim U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan.
Two subsequent grand juries declined to indict James again in December 2025. Although federal officials issued new criminal referrals in March alleging property insurance misrepresentations, the claims generated no new charges.
Trump’s latest attack targets Cornell’s investigation into a former student’s allegations that several men drugged and sexually assaulted her at a Chi Phi fraternity house in 2024.
Court filings identify her as Jane Doe; she sued Cornell University, the fraternity, and seven current or former students in September. Her lawsuit alleges that the students gave her alcohol and drugs before sexually assaulting her while she was partially or fully incapacitated.
The local district attorney initially declined to prosecute the case. Hochul later transferred the investigation to James, citing a loss of confidence in the local prosecutor’s ability to handle it. James’ office has said the criminal investigation remains active.
An attorney representing one of the men accused in the case has challenged James’ appointment and sought restrictions on public comments about the investigation.
Meanwhile, Cornell has suspended fraternity parties and hired former Deputy U.S. Attorney General Sally Yates to conduct an independent review of the university’s handling of sexual misconduct complaints.
