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(USNewsMag.com) – Republican Sen. Tom Cotton of Arizona blasted President Joe Biden during a recent television appearance, accusing him of siding with “anti-American lunatics.”
Cotton appeared on “Fox News Sunday” on June 9th and told host Shannon Bream that Biden should be backing Israel rather than cater to what he called the “pro-Hamas wing of the Democratic Party.”
Cotton’s remark came in response to a question from Bream, who asked the senator about a recent Time Magazine interview in which Biden refused to comment on whether or not he believes Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is “prolonging the war” for personal “political self-preservation.” Bream noted that despite Biden’s evasion of the question, the president did add that those who drew such a conclusion about Netanyahu had “every reason” to do so.
The Fox host asked Cotton what he made of Biden’s response about the Jewish state, which is a major U.S. ally in the Middle East, and critics who claim the Israeli prime minister is leveraging the war for political reasons. Cotton replied that the president’s remarks amounted to “another slander” against Netanyahu and the Israeli government. The GOP senator said Netanyahu’s policies “are very popular” in Israel and that his cabinet is “signing off on missions,” such as the recent hostage rescue the day prior.
Meanwhile, Cotton accused Biden of only trying to limit the Jewish state’s “freedom of action” and “their ability to defend themselves” at every turn, putting pressure on Israel rather than on Hamas and the Middle Eastern nations funding them.
The senator then noted pro-Palestinian protesters who vandalized statues of veterans outside the White House on Biden’s watch. Cotton said the president “allowed it to happen” and doesn’t believe “any arrests or prosecutions” will follow the incident. Cotton then promised to introduce new legislation that would increase penalties on protesters who turn into vandals and rioters, vowing to “lock up these lunatics.”
The Republican said Biden seems to think the protesters, who he called “anti-American,” should be in charge of US policy toward Israel when America should be “backing Israel to the hilt.” Cotton said the U.S. should have been all-in with Israel immediately following the Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas, and that the war “would probably already be over” and all hostages freed with fewer civilians dead if pro-Hamas Democrats instead backed Israel.
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