Meghan McCain called out Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) during an episode of “The View” over his relationship with controversial progressive members of the Democratic Party.
“You are the Godfather of ‘The Squad.’ You’re a hyper-progressive socialist, and you’re talking about social justice before it was cool,” McCain said. “But it feels like the squad today has moved even to the Left of you. How is it for you to stand by everything AOC, Rashida Talib, and Ilhan Omar have said and done, particularly when it comes to Israel and talking about ‘From the river to the sea’ and the extermination of Israel, as a right to exist? Or do you think the movement, which you started, has moved away from what you envisioned?”
Sanders responded, “Well Meghan, first of all, I don’t believe that’s what they’re saying, and second of all, it’s not my job to have to defend every member of Congress, any more than it is their job to defend every statement that I make.”
The senator went on to discuss his work on a budget, as well as efforts to rebuild infrastructure and create good jobs, citing policy initiatives that varied from taxes to child care.
“I think the … progressives in the House are doing a very good job standing up for working families,” Sanders said. “It’s not my job to comment on everything that any member of the House says, any more [than] it is for them to comment on what I say.”
The members of the so-called “Squad” have faced increasing criticism over their rhetoric that many have called anti-Semitic regarding the state of Israel.
Sanders made the claim that McCain’s comments weren’t “what [the progressive members of his party are] saying,” but members of Congress such as Representative Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) have made comments against Israel and publicly denounced its actions to defend itself.
Tlaib recently gave a speech on the floor of the House of Representatives calling policies of the U.S. ally “apartheid” and “racist,” The Washington Post reported.
Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) has also spoken out against Israel in recent weeks, allegedly alluding to Israel and calling it an “apartheid state” in a tweet, writing, “Apartheid states aren’t democracies.”
Apartheid states aren’t democracies.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) May 15, 2021
Representative Ilhan Omar (D-MN) recently received backlash when she seemed to compare Israel and the United States to terrorist groups.
In a tweet, Omar wrote, “We must have the same level of accountability and justice for all victims of crimes against humanity. We have seen unthinkable atrocities committed by the U.S., Hamas, Israel, Afghanistan, and the Taliban.”
We must have the same level of accountability and justice for all victims of crimes against humanity.
We have seen unthinkable atrocities committed by the U.S., Hamas, Israel, Afghanistan, and the Taliban.
I asked @SecBlinken where people are supposed to go for justice. pic.twitter.com/tUtxW5cIow
— Rep. Ilhan Omar (@Ilhan) June 7, 2021
The comment received criticism and a group of Democrats eventually pushed back against Omar’s statements, leading the congresswoman to clarify her position.
The group of Democrats wrote, “Equating the United States and Israel to Hamas and the Taliban is as offensive as it is misguided,” per The Daily Wire. “Ignoring the differences between democracies governed by the rule of law and contemptible organizations that engage in terrorism at best discredits one’s intended argument and at worst reflects deep-seated prejudice.”
Omar put out a statement that said, “To be clear: the conversation was about accountability for specific incidents regarding those ICC cases, not a moral comparison between Hamas and the Taliban and the U.S. and Israel.”
She added, “I was in no way equating terrorist organizations with democratic countries with well-established judicial systems.”
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) thanked the congresswoman for the clarification, even though many felt that Omar had gone too far and her clarification was not enough.