During Thursday's press briefing, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was asked to speak to whether or not there is "division" in the Democratic Party when it comes to support for Israel and condemnation of the Hamas terrorists that attacked the country on Saturday. Despite the inability for members of the Squad to fully condemn Hamas and/or express support for our ally in the Middle East, Jean-Pierre claimed "we're not sensing division."
A reporter had asked "does he feel that his party is supporting him in that and does he sense--or does he sense divisions amongst some parts of the party," referring to President Joe Biden.
Initially, it seemed as if Jean-Pierre was trying to say she couldn't speak to the matter, before offering there is no such division. "Look, I--I can’t speak to--I--we’re not sensing division, right? We’re--the president is focusing on the job at hand," she sputtered. "The President is going to always focus and make sure that Americans and our--our national security is front and center. And this is part of that."
Jean-Pierre is often painting a rosier picture for the administration than is really the case, but if she claims they're "not sensing division," they're really not sensing much at all. Such a response also could suggest that the administration, would rather not even bother paying attention to any such division at all.
REPORTER: "Does [Biden] feel that his party is supporting him [in assisting Israel]? Or does he sense division?"
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) October 12, 2023
JEAN-PIERRE: "We're not sensing division." pic.twitter.com/vEWMjH1nLD
Her response to the question before that, which prompted this kind of follow-up above, was even more atrocious when it comes to whether Biden has support from the Democratic Party. What followed was a poor defense of the president's own personal efforts in supporting Israel.
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"Look, the president is--I mean, very much to what the Admiral just said about the moment that we’re in, about what we’re seeing, this ter--terrible event that happened this past weekend within Israel is that--who is an al--ally, who is a friend--is what we saw this--this terrorist organization do--Hamas--which is kill hundreds of li--take hundreds of lives, murder people," is the non-answer she struggled through, according to the official White House transcript.
"And we believe--this president believes it is the right thing to do to continue to assist the people of Israel as they’re dealing with this devastating, horrific time," she also added in part. "And so, it is the president’s duty as Commander-in-Chief to do everything that he can to protect us and to also assist in this horrific, horrific events that we saw this weekend."
REPORTER: "Does the president feel supporter by the Democratic party...with regard to Israel?"
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) October 12, 2023
JEAN-PIERRE: "This president believe it is the right thing to do to continue to assist the people of Israel!" pic.twitter.com/pNADKBkV4f
That, of course, does not mean that divisions aren't actually there, or that support is there. In addition to the misplaced priorities from the Squad members, a poll from The Economist/YouGov showed Democrats are among the least supportive demographics when it comes to Israel.
On Friday morning, The Hill--hardly a conservative publication--published a headline on how "Schumer faces Democratic divisions on Israel," referring to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), who will be leading a bipartisan trip to Israel. Oddly enough, the piece makes no mention of the exchanges above during Thursday's press briefing.
Such a claim that the White House is "not sensing division" comes after Jean-Pierre offered strong words during Tuesday's press briefing when it comes to the narratives from the Squad. As strong as her words rightfully were, she did not call them out by name.
Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) has arguably been one of the the worst offenders when it comes to what she's said, has not said, and her delayed responses, though Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) has made some problematic statements she's doubled down on as well.
WOW -- KJP absolutely slams members of Congress siding with Hamas as not only wrong, but publishing statements that "are repugnant and disgraceful."
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) October 10, 2023
.@PhilipWegmann: "There have been some members of Congress that have called for a cease fire and they have not now gone as far as… pic.twitter.com/bmrxme8pmO
There are Democratic members of Congress who have steadfastly not only expressed their support for Israel, while also calling out the narratives of their Democratic colleagues, especially, but not only Squad members.
At a Massachusetts rally in support of Israel, for instace, Sen. Ed Markey was booed for discussing the need for de-escalation. Rep. Jake Auchinloss, who has also posted at length in support of Israel to his X accounts, denounced such a call when it was his term to speak during the rally.
Ed Markey was strongly booed by Boston crowd for calling for deescalation.
— Gabby Deutch (@GSDeutch) October 9, 2023
15 mins later, @JakeAuch seemed to respond directly:
"Deescalation is not possible when they are taking hostages. Israel did not ask America to deescalate on September 12, 2001. We stand w/ Israel.
Calls for de-escalation, even if well-meaning, are premature; Israel needs the military latitude to re-establish deterrence and root out the nodes of terrorism. Israel did not ask America to de-escalate on September 12, 2001. pic.twitter.com/zWWN0k122X
— Rep. Jake Auchincloss 🟧 (@RepAuchincloss) October 9, 2023
In addition to Auchincloss, other vocal Democrats include Reps. Ritchie Torres of New York and Jared Moskowitz of Florida. The latter has been particularly bipartisan on the matter when it comes to support for resolutions as well as reposting Gov. Ron DeSantis' (R-FL) support for the Jewish community, as well as reposting Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) in agreement and appearing on conservative shows.
Ascribing the guilt of Hamas to a whole people is morally and factually wrong.
— Ritchie Torres (@RitchieTorres) October 10, 2023
Hamas is the oppressor of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip—a fact that is often left unmentioned.
I pray for the liberation of Palestinians from the terrorism, theocracy, and tyranny of Hamas. https://t.co/i6dvaKhLUx
If you have trouble clearly condemning Hamas for butchering babies, there’s something profoundly wrong with you. Period.
— Ritchie Torres (@RitchieTorres) October 11, 2023
600 Dead in Israel is equivalent to 24,000 dead in the US based on population.
— Jared Moskowitz 🟧 (@JaredEMoskowitz) October 8, 2023
When 9/11 happened no one asked for a ceasefire.
Always a double standard for Israel
And, one Michigan Democrat, Rep. Shri Thanedar renounced his membership with the Democratic Socialists of America, after the group hosted antisemitic rallies in New York City earlier this week.
Thanedar made the announcement from his official X account on Wednesday afternoon.
I renounce my membership in the DSA pic.twitter.com/rtpxStKW2Q
— Congressman Shri Thanedar (@RepShriThanedar) October 11, 2023
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