Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) is extremely upset after being detained in the West Bank by armed Israeli settlers. This incident took place last Wednesday, but Khanna and The New York Times chose to report on it Saturday. Why Khanna was even there is another question. The 2028 election is still a long way off, and this soft launch was, frankly, awkward.
The stunt got nuked by Israeli Ambassador Dr. Michael Leiter, who cooked Khanna’s stunt on CBS’ Face the Nation yesterday. Additionally, the California liberal was in a restricted military zone where civilians were not allowed. Lastly, Khanna refused to meet with survivors of the October 7 attacks or attend a briefing on the security issues facing Israel at the border. Nick Arama at RedState has more:
Rep. Ro Khanna said his office alerted the U.S. embassy in Israel of his visit to the West Bank, where he said he was detained by Israeli settlers, but Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Dr. Michael Leiter tells @margbrennan, “There was not an alert. There was a question about visas,… pic.twitter.com/CYpr2vaCe7
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) July 12, 2026
As we noted, the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) disputed Khanna's claim that they were involved in any "detention" of Khanna's group, and said they helped resolve the situation when they arrived. The Israeli police also said that this was a "closed military zone" (CMZ) area where civilians weren't allowed.
[…]
Leiter explained how they reached out to Khanna when they found out he was coming, offering to have him meet with survivors of the October 7 attack, as well as see the issues Israel had to deal with at the borders. Leiter said Khanna blew them off. "He ignored that, and he decided to coordinate his trip, not with Israel, but with Palestinian activists," Leiter declared. Maybe this wouldn't have happened had he coordinated with the Israeli government, Leiter asserted.
Khanna has claimed they did alert the government. Leiter said all they did was ask a question about visas, and that they did not coordinate anything.
Leiter really laid Khanna out on the timing of this story.
"You know to have this incident on Wednesday and wait to release it until Saturday. Maybe this had more something to do with his support of Graham Platner beforehand, and the difficulties he had with that? Trying to shift the focus to something else, perhaps? I'm asking a question."
Leiter also took a jab at Khanna, seeming to use this as a way to "declare a presidential run." That made even Margaret Brennan laugh. But that's what we have here, with all the media and Khanna making sure to talk about 2028.
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“When we requested he coordinate the trip with us, he rejected that by basically staying silent. So, that’s unfortunate. This whole incident is unfortunate,” said Leiter.
It was by design, folks.
With the Democrats in an identity crisis, many are trying to become the face and the stronghold for their questionable values, as well as the person who can harness the political energy among the progressive Left. Khanna is attempting this, but if his antics can be easily laughed at and exposed — where even host Margaret Brennan chuckled — then he’s not that guy.
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