Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) pushed back on Sunday against President Joe Biden’s alleged warning to Benjamin Netanyahu that the US would not join an attack on Iran, maintaining his months-long stance that the US should completely support Israel.
“It’s astonishing that we are not standing firmly with Israel,” Fetterman told CNN’s Jake Tapper on the State of the Union. “There should never be any time for conditions—all of that when a nation can launch hundreds of drones towards Israel—and I’m not going to be talking about conditions ever.”
As reported by Axios and others, Tapper questioned Fetterman about his agreement with Biden’s decision to urge Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu to “take the win” by intercepting Iran’s missiles and drones, and his disapproval of an Israeli response. Fetterman stated that, while he still backed the president, he disagreed with Biden and asked him to retain unwavering support for Israel.
“The president is entitled to his own views and whatever he decides to do, but I would never capitulate to the fringe,” he said. “In actuality, that’s beneficial—it gives Hamas more power, and they are firmly convinced that they are winning the public relations battle and have no intention of speaking now.” They believe they will cling on until the very end.
Fetterman has emerged as one of a group of elected Democrats who continue to fully support Israel despite the country’s shelling of Gaza following Hamas’ killing on October 7. According to the Hamas-run Palestinian Ministry of Health, the fighting in Gaza has killed more than 33,000 Palestinians. Nonetheless, Fetterman has remained unwavering, even as his popularity among younger voters dwindled earlier this year.
