Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is laying into Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) for calling for new elections in Israel.
In a speech on the Senate floor Thursday, McConnell argued Israel deserves “the deference befitting a sovereign democratic country” in its war with Hamas. He also said the “obstacles to peace” in the region are “genocidal terrorists.”
He then took aim at Schumer’s call for new leadership:
“It is grotesque and hypocritical for Americans who hyperventilate about foreign interference in our own democracy to call for the removal of a democratically elected leader of Israel. This is unprecedented. We should not treat fellow democracies this way at all.”
Watch the video below:
Sen. McConnell: "It is grotesque and hypocritical for Americans who hyperventilate about foreign interference in our own democracy to call for the removal of a democratically elected leader of Israel. This is unprecedented. We should not treat fellow democracies this way at all." pic.twitter.com/K6xOd1a9Ey
— CSPAN (@cspan) March 14, 2024
McConnell also suggested the issues left wing groups have with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are not with him, but Israel itself.
His speech comes after Schumer called Netanyahu an “obstacle to peace.”
“I have known Prime Minister Netanyahu for a long time. While we have vehemently disagreed on many occasions, I will always respect his extraordinary bravery for Israel on the battlefield as a younger man. I believe in his heart his highest priority is the security of Israel. However, I also believe Prime Minister Netanyahu has lost his way by allowing his political survival to take precedence over the best interests of Israel,” the New York senator said.
.@SenSchumer: "Prime Minister Netanyahu has lost his way by allowing his political survival to take the precedence over the best interests of Israel…The Netanyahu coalition no longer fits the needs of Israel after October 7th." pic.twitter.com/xgrLOOUszW
— CSPAN (@cspan) March 14, 2024
Schumer added, “At this critical juncture I believe a new election is the only way to allow for a healthy and open decision making process about the future of Israel.”
After his comment, Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Michael Herzog posted on X, “Israel is a sovereign democracy. It is unhelpful, all the more so as Israel is at war against the genocidal terror organization Hamas, to comment on the domestic political scene of a democratic ally. It is counterproductive to our common goals.”
