Saturday, during an appearance on MSNBC’s “PoliticsNation,” left-wing documentary filmmaker Michael Moore criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, suggesting the October 7 terror attack by Hamas on southern Israel was a product of his “failed” leadership.
Moore also called Netanyahu “Trumpian,” likening him to former President Donald Trump.
Partial transcript as follows:
SHARPTON: What in your view is driving this frustration? And what should the White House be doing about it?
MOORE: Well, thank you, Al, for having me on today.
I don’t know how it’s been for you or the people watching on TV right now, but to — for me the last four weeks, I don’t think there’s been a single day that I haven’t — at the very least teared up watching the news, reading the paper and things online, in many case, just outright crime.
I — this has been an awful four weeks, but, of course, I’m just an observer. The people that are suffering, starting with the people in Israel on October 7 who were slaughtered by — it’s just, it’s just so mind-boggling, and then all the people who have been held hostage for these four weeks — you know, I just right off the bat, everybody has to — everybody has to get behind the fact that that the people of the Jewish faith, of Jewish ancestry have suffered, literally, for thousands of years, have suffered this kind of behavior and the treatment.
And all of us who are not Jewish need to speak loudly and clearly, that we are not only opposed, we will stand in front of and behind and wherever we need to be to protect our Jewish brothers and sisters. This can never happen again. “Never again”, we’ve heard this since World War II. And yet — and yet again and again and again.
So, that has to be said absolutely right off the bat, Hamas has to release every single one of these hostages right now. This is absolutely — that is just — it’s — I don’t know.
I — and then what has exacerbated everything is the fact you’ve got a Trumpian figure as the prime minister of Israel, who’s like Trump currently still under indictment, still awaiting trial for the crimes of fraud, bribery, and numerous other things that he’s been indicted on.
SHARPTON: You’re talking about Benjamin Netanyahu. He’s under indictment right now.
MOORE: That is correct. That is correct.
And so, this person, who has lied to his own people, who failed to protect his own people. October 7 — listen, the Israeli press is maybe the best press in the world in terms of, they will dig into this. They already are. Great articles already that I’ve been reading in the Israeli press about the investigations that are going to take place.
Right now, they’re just living in utter fear, trying to do whatever they can do to protect themselves.
But, of course, the carpet bombing of human beings, civilians, children, simply because they belong to a tribe that is essentially a cousin, when we talk about the Semitic tribes, you’re talking about Jews, you’re talking about Arabs, you’re talking about Muslims — these are essentially, if you travel there, they’re cousins.
I first went to Gaza — and this will be different, probably, for most of the people watching this. I’ve been to Gaza. I first went there almost 39 years ago, Al. I wanted to see for myself. I went with the group of journalists to just try to figure out. This was before the first intifada.
And I could not believe what I saw. I couldn’t unsee it. And it’s — it’s — it’s — the fact that now, what’s the latest numbers? I read in the AP this morning, it’s close to 10,000 dead Palestinians.
SHARPTON: Yeah.
MOORE: And of those, almost 4,000 are children — burned, mangled, blown apart children.
And for anybody who’s watching this, to say, well, they did it, too, so you’re saying then, the way to respond to terror and to horror and to killing people is to do more killing?
SHARPTON: Yeah.
MOORE: And that doesn’t work.
SHARPTON: I think a lot of us share that view. I’m outraged by both.
Follow Jeff Poor on Twitter @jeff_poor
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