On Friday’s broadcast of CNN’s “Situation Room,” 2024 U.S. Senate candidate Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) said that President Joe Biden is addressing left-wing critics of his Israel policy by having conversations with Israel that are typically done in private in public. She also stated, “I think that the President is being earnest when he’s saying he’s trying to exert pressure. I think there are levers that he’s pulling right now. And the fact that, last week, we were having trips canceled and all that stuff, it’s just highly unusual in a long, bipartisan relationship that we’ve had between the U.S. and Israel.”
Host Wolf Blitzer asked, “It was a show of unity for Democrats on stage in New York City last night at the Radio City Music Hall, but protesters, both inside and outside, highlighted one very deep division in the party when it comes to Gaza right now. Is President Biden, Congresswoman, doing enough to address these concerns?”
Slotkin responded, “Yeah, well, I think what you’re hearing is people who feel angry and upset and dehumanized and they want to be heard, and I think the President, — as I think they tried to explain a little bit in the meeting last night — or in the event last night, he’s having a very open conversation, in public, with Bibi Netanyahu about the day-after planning and Rafah and humanitarian aid. I think that’s — usually, when you have an allied relationship, those conversations, those tough conversations happen behind closed doors. They’re now happening out in the open for the whole world to see, and they need to continue to happen. And I think that the President is being earnest when he’s saying he’s trying to exert pressure. I think there are levers that he’s pulling right now. And the fact that, last week, we were having trips canceled and all that stuff, it’s just highly unusual in a long, bipartisan relationship that we’ve had between the U.S. and Israel.”
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
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