US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) holds a press conference in the US Capitol in Washington, DC, April 23, 2024. Photo: Annabelle Gordon / CNP/Sipa USA via Reuters Connect
Former US President Donald Trump attacked Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s (NY) record on Israel at a rally on Wednesday night, claiming the lawmaker has “become a Palestinian” and a “proud member of Hamas.”
While speaking to an audience in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Trump criticized Schumer, the highest-ranking Jewish US elected official, for allegedly distancing himself from Israel and refusing to shake the hand of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his visit to the United States last week.
“Chuck Schumer refused to shake the Israeli prime minister’s hand. Chuck Schumer has become a Palestinian. Yes, yes, can you believe it? He’s become a proud member of Hamas,” said Trump, the 2024 Republican presidential nominee.
In response, Schumer said in a statement: “The lower [Trump] drops in polls, the more unhinged he becomes.”
Schumer has issued withering criticism toward Netanyahu in the months following the Palestinian terror group Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel. The lawmaker called for new elections in Israel to replace Netanyahu during a March 14 speech on the Senate floor, a nearly unprecedented statement by such a high ranking US official calling on the people of a close democratic ally to replace its leadership.
Specifically, Schumer accused Netanyahu of aligning himself with “extremists” and condemned his approach to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.
“It has become clear to me the Netanyahu coalition no longer fits the needs of Israel after Oct. 7,” Schumer said, noting the date when Hamas terrorists invaded the Jewish state from Gaza and started the conflict.
In response, Netanyahu called Schumer’s remarks “totally inappropriate.”
“It’s inappropriate to go to a sister democracy and try to replace the elected leadership there. That’s something the Israeli public does on its own,” Netanyahu said on CNN.
Schumer also claimed that the Israeli premier “lost his way” and warned that Israel risks becoming an international “pariah” due to its military campaign targeting Hamas terrorists in Gaza.
Despite his comments, Schumer ultimately signed onto the formal congressional invitation for Netanyahu to address a joint session of the US Congress last week.
During Wednesday’s campaign rally, Trump also took aim at Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), the former speaker of the House. Trump lambasted Pelosi for condemning Netanyahu’s congressional address as “by far the worst presentation of any foreign dignitary invited and honored with the privilege of addressing the Congress of the United States.”
“Nancy Pelosi, likewise, denounced the speech in shameful terms,” Trump said.
Earlier this year, Pelosi joined several House Democrats in co-signing a letter urging US President Joe Biden to cease arms shipments to Israel, accusing the Jewish state of recklessly endangering civilian lives in Gaza. Pelosi refused to attend Netanyahu’s speech and publicly repudiated the bipartisan invite to the Israeli leader as “wrong.”
Beyond Schumer and Pelosi, Trump vowed to help the Jewish state with the ongoing war against Hamas, which rules Gaza. Touting his personal relationships with “all the players” involved in the conflict, Trump stressed that he will help Israel achieve “peace through strength.”
The former president also chided current US Vice President and presumptive 2024 Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris for skipping Netanyahu’s address in favor of attending the convention for a historically black sorority.
“You saw that instead of sending a clear signal that the United States will never abandon an ally, a very important one,” Trump said. “Kamala chose to politicize the moment to grandstand, making a show of refusing to attend. You know where she was? She went to a sorority party. Could you believe it? Even though it was her duty as president of the Senate to be there? It was her duty to be there. Her Democrat allies fell in line.”
Although the White House claimed that Harris’ absence was the result of a scheduling conflict, critics have speculated that Harris made a calculated decision not to attend Netanyahu’s address. Facing pressure from far-left progressives to turn against Israel, several prominent Democrats have become increasingly critical of the Jewish state, calling to condition Washington’s military aid to Israel and even suggesting the Jewish state is committing genocide during its defensive military operations in Gaza.
Top Biden administration officials, including Harris, have expressed “ironclad” support for Israel’s security but rebuked the Jewish state for its war effort in Hamas-ruled Gaza, citing the humanitarian situation there and number of civilian casualties.
Roughly half of House and Senate Democrats skipped Netanyahu’s speech, with many making clear they were boycotting the event in protest of Israel’s prosecution of the war in Gaza. Some argued the Israeli prime minister was meddling in US politics or using the speech to boost his own position at home, taking shots at the Israeli premier over social media.
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