Cotton Blasts ‘Dangerous Liberal’ Harris Over Comments After Netanyahu Meeting

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) criticized Vice President Kamala Harris as a “dangerous liberal” on Sunday over comments she made after meeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington, D.C., last week.

Harris, who is now running for president, made headlines for how she critiqued Israel’s fight against Hamas in the Gaza Strip following the deadly October 7 attacks — particularly when it came to civilian fatalities. She said how Israel defends itself “matters” and vowed to “not be silent” in the face of the “tragedies” in Gaza.

The VP also condemned Hamas, as shown in a clip that CNN played for Cotton.

“Hamas is a brutal terrorist organization. On October 7, Hamas triggered this war when it massacred 1,200 innocent people, including 44 Americans,” Harris said. “Hamas has committed horrific acts of sexual violence and took 250 hostages.”

CNN’s Jake Tapper said, “I mean, that’s a pretty strong condemnation of Hamas. One can condemn Hamas and also want Israel to wage the war in a different way, no?”

Cotton pointed out that the clip did not show everything.

“As is sometimes said, the most important part of a statement comes after the but. We didn’t hear the but there, but she said ‘but,’ and then what followed is continued pressure on Israel, blaming Israel for civilian casualties in Gaza, when, in reality, it’s Hamas that is using civilians as human shields and locating its command posts and mortar-firing positions at schools or at mosques or at hospitals,” Cotton said.

“And where’s the condemnation for this heinous attack by Hezbollah yesterday that blew up 12 children? As we came on the air, Kamala Harris and her campaign has still not said anything to condemn Hezbollah for that attack,” he added. “Again, this is only a week into her presidency — or her presidential campaign. And we see why she is a dangerous liberal. I saw Kamala Harris up close for four years on the Senate Intelligence Committee. What the American people see this week is just a small sampling of what she would do to make America less safe and make the world more chaotic.”

Cotton went on, “Remember, she took credit for a lot of the worst decisions of the Biden administration. She said she was right there when they decided on the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan. This is who Kamala Harris always has been. This is who she will be, a San Francisco liberal who cannot keep this country safe.”

Schumer Refuses To Say Whether He Pushed Biden To Exit 2024 Race

On Sunday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) dodged multiple questions about whether he privately urged President Joe Biden to drop out of the 2024 race amid concerns about his age, mental health, and electability after a poor debate performance.

CBS News reporter Robert Costa repeatedly asked Schumer on “Face the Nation” about a meeting in the days before Biden ended his campaign last weekend. During their discussion, according to ABC News’ Jonathan Karl, Schumer “forcefully made the case” that Biden should “bow out” of the contest.

“Senator, on July 13, you went to Delaware to meet with President Biden. It was a private discussion and I know you’d like to keep your discussions with the president private,” Costa said. “But that, for history, was a very momentous meeting in the sense of you were the Senate Democratic leader, the majority leader meeting with the president to discuss the presidential race. For history, for the record, did you, in any way, suggest to the president that he should leave the presidential race on July 13?”

Schumer began his reply saying they should “first” examine Biden’s record.

“He’s had one of the most amazing presidencies we’ve had in decades,” Schumer said, “passing so many good things: the infrastructure bill, the IRA bill, getting the price of prescription drugs down for the first time, going against the NRA successfully, helping our veterans with burn pits. So he’s had an amazingly successful record. And he’s always done what’s right for America. And I respect him, I respect his patriotism, I respect the amazing things he’s done. We work together on many of them.”

Costa pressed Schumer again.

“But just for history, though, did you — what was your role, what was your intention with that meeting with him on July 13? Because some Biden allies feel heard about this entire process,” Costa said. “I just sat down the other day with Sen. Chris Coons, your colleague, and he said a lot of people feel hurt, angry about how this all played out and you did go to see him and conveyed the views of your colleagues based on our reporting. So what exactly happened there? What was your role, if any, and suggested he get out or stay?”

Schumer responded, “As I said … yeah, I’m not going to get into the specifics. But he can — President Biden will walk away from the presidency with his head held high, because of all the great things he’s done and because he put America first he always has.”