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'No Home in the Democrat Party': Cruz Has Message for Pro-Israel Voters After Schumer's Speech

Rebecca Downs
Rebecca Downs  |  March 17, 2024 12:45 PM

Reactions abound when it comes to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) taking to the Senate floor last Thursday to call for new elections in Israel, as he also claimed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had "lost his way" and was "an obstacle to peace." Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), in addition to releasing an official statement, also called out Schumer in the Friday episode of "The Verdict," the podcast he co-hosts with Ben Ferguson.

During the podcast, Cruz pointed out how Schumer's speech in which "he blasted the nation of Israel" was quite "historic." And, speaking of Iran, he pointed out the Democratic leader doesn't call them out. 

"Mind you Schumer doesn't do this for enemies of America. He doesn't do this for Russia. He doesn't do this for Iran. He doesn't do this for Hamas. He reserves this hatred for the elected leader of Israel," Cruz shared. 

It's not just Schumer, though. "And sadly, Schumer is the point of the spear. He represents also Democrats across the board who are pivoting away from Israel. This very same week, the Biden administration waived sanctions to effectively give $10 billion to Iran, to the Ayatollah, who pledges death to Israel and death to America, who is funding Hamas, who was behind the October 7 attack. And Joe Biden is prepared to fund those zealots, while Chuck Schumer has decided that the target of his ire should be the elected leader of Israel," Cruz pointed out. "It's truly stunning. And it's dangerous."

Not only is such a stance a feature of the Democratic Party, but it involves President Joe Biden himself. Ferguson raised some thoughts about the president's thoughts on this speech. As we covered on Friday, Biden shared he thought it was "a good speech."

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In discussing "the backdrop for what Schumer said and why this timing is so significant," Ferguson pointed out "I think it has a lot to do with the State of the Union." When speaking about Schumer's speech, Ferguson pointed out "there was honestly a part of me that I'm like, I'm not even sure Chuck Schumer believes this," offering "maybe he really does, but it was almost like it was a decision made within the Democratic Party."

"Okay, we got to get people younger, and a lot of the radicals in the Democratic Party, the socialists and the Marxists and the communists, they hate Israel, they support Hamas and the Palestinians. They believe that Israel is evil. So let's placate to them I'll go give this speech that I would have never given before, and maybe that'll get them back in, in excitement to vote for us," Ferguson raised as a possibility. It's worth reminding that Schumer gave a very different speech last November, when he called out  antisemites on the far-left. 

"Is there a possibility that could have been part of what this was about? Just straight up selling out," Ferguson asked Cruz. "Our do you believe he actually believes what he's saying about getting rid of Netanyahu?"

Cruz offered that "I believe he believes what he's saying," adding "the Democrats have hated Netanyahu from the beginning, they despise him." As the senator put it, "Democrats view Netanyahu as the Israeli equivalent of Donald Trump, and they hate him with a comparable fury."

As we've been covering, the United States is once more looking to get Netanyahu out of power, just as they did during the Obama administration in 2015, when Biden was vice president. 

"And much of that stems back to when Barack Obama was president and Obama pushed forward the catastrophic Iran nuclear deal. And they tried to muscle all of our allies into accepting it and the Obama White House tried to muscle congressional Democrats into accepting it," Cruz explained. While congressional Democrats caved, Netanyahu refused to do so.

That is where Cruz believes the hatred stems from. "And I'll tell you, Democrats have never forgiven him for daring to stand up to the Obama White House," he shared, also pointing out how Democratic members boycotted Netanyahu's speech to a joint session of Congress at the time. "That hatred is real," Cruz shared, pointing to how "that's one thing that's going on."

Cruz spoke to something "even more concerning," though, which is how "the Democrat Party day by day by day is turning against Israel. If you look at polling numbers now, among Democrats, if you ask Democrats whom do you support Israel, or the Palestinians? The numbers are growing every single day of Democrats who say, we're with the Palestinians." Even while Americans overall support our ally in the Middle East, multiple polls have for months shown Democrats to be abandoning Israel at an alarming rate, with their sympathies also lying more with Palestinians. 

The senator argued it comes from the Biden White House. "And here's the dirty little secret. Some people are saying, well, it's just the squad. It's just the radical antisemites on the far left of the Democrat Party. They're the ones doing it, and the crazies on college campuses," Cruz shared. "It's a lot more concerning than that. It is the Biden White House. It is Chuck Schumer, the self-declared guardian of Israel, who is the median of the Democratic Party is steadily turning against Israel."

As clips of Schumer's speech were played, Ferguson pointed out that Schumer is "basically giving talking points for Palestinians and Hamas," which Cruz responded to by pointing out "he's giving the talking points for the left-wing of the Democrat Party," highlighting how Netanyahu was indeed elected in the last election they had, but "Chuck Schumer and the rest of the Democrat Party don’t like the choice that the people of Israel made."

Cruz also spoke to a further problem from the Democratic Party, which is that "across the leadership in Israel, there is consensus that Israel must defeat Hamas," but "where there isn't consensus in the Democrat Party." He reminded that the Democrats he serves with in Congress, including on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, focus their concerns for Gaza. 

This comes even after Hamas terrorists killed over 1,200 Israelis on October 7, which was the bloodiest day in Israel's history and saw more Jews killed since the Holocaust. Hamas also engaged in rape, kidnapping, and torture, taking approximately 240 hostages, many of who are still held captive. 

The podcast also played clips from Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's (R-KY) "impromptu" floor speech in response, in which he expertly called out Schumer. Going off of McConnell's comments, and points that had been stressed throughout the episode, "the Democrats don't have an anti Bibi [Netanyahu] policy. They have an anti-Israel problem," though "it's not just the Squad."

Cruz reminded how when he was elected 12 years ago, he resolved to be "the leading defender of Israel in the Senate," something he says he's "worked hard to do that every day since then." He acknowledged the need for it to be a bipartisan issue, though.

"I have to say it is deeply saddening and it is really dangerous that the Democrat party today does not resemble in any way shape or form the Democrat Party 12 years ago, when I arrived in the Senate, because the party as a whole is turning day by day steadily more and more hostile to Israel," the senator revealed.

Making clear "I don't mean this as hyperbole," Cruz warned that "if you are a voter who cares about Israel who loves Israel, at this point, I genuinely do not know how a voter who cares about and loves Israel could cast a ballot for the Democrats, that that is fundamentally inconsistent with where this Democrat Party is."

Cruz also called for Democrats to be asked if they stand with Schumer's remarks, especially those senators up for reelection. "They will all dodge it," Cruz predicted about them being asked such a question, though. "I believe every one of them, all of them will stand with Schumer on this that this is where the party is," something Cruz said is "a terrible development for Israel, and it's a terrible development for America."

Although Jews have tended to vote overwhelming in favor of Democrats, October 7 and the rise of antisemitism could change that. Guy addressed the shocking poll last month from The New York Times/Siena College, meaning before Schumer's speech. As the poll found, Trump leads Biden with Jewish voters in the Empire State.