Pod Save America Hosts Demand Democrats Stop Giving Military Aid to Israel: ‘We Are Not Going Back to the Pre-October 7 Status Quo’
The hosts of Pod Save America demanded that Democrats stop giving military aid to Israel during Tuesday’s episode, with co-host Tommy Vietor, an ex-aide to former President Obama, emphasizing Democrats “are not going back to the pre-October 7th status quo” when the war ends.
Jon Favreau, another co-host and former Obama aide, added that he “doesn’t think Democratic candidates should take money from AIPAC or vote to fund military support for Israel anymore, and that especially includes the next Democratic nominee for president.”
Notably, Vietor went on to call out the Obama-era MOU securing $3.3 billion per year in aid to Israel. “We are part of the problem here,” he said. “Let’s aim to fix it.”
The Pod Save America hosts have called out Democrats before along the same lines, with Favreau saying last April that former President [Joe] Biden looked “weak” when news broke that he wouldn’t change his policy when it came to Israel.
Read a transcript of the clip and watch below.
TOMMY VIETOR: I would like to see talk about sanctioning Israeli government officials who use genocidal rhetoric or talk about ethnic cleansing openly. We should support a ceasefire resolution at the U.N. We should demand the international press be allowed into the Gaza Strip to report on what’s happening without an IDF minder. It’s insane the press still can’t go into Gaza and cover what’s happening.
There has to be a total mindset change in the Democratic party. When the war ends, we are not going back to the pre-October 7th status quo because that’s not where the party is. It’s not where the world is. We are not going to shovel billions a year in military aid. We are not going to veto every effort to recognize a Palestinian state at the U.N. We should not take money from AIPAC.
I will hold out hope for better political leadership in the U.S. and Israel, but we also have to recognize that the Biden-era ‘hug Bibi Netanyahu strategy’ has to be thrown in the trash can for f*cking ever. Netanyahu is a bad actor. He’s continuing a war for political purposes. He bombs Lebanon when he wants to, he bombs Iran when he wants to, he bombs Syria when he wants to. This is not a partner we can count on. This is not someone who is leading to calm and stability in the region, which should be a core interest.
JON FAVREAU: At this point, cutting off military funding for a government that is starving 2 million people and advertising how they’re ethnically cleansing the Palestinians seems like the least we can do.
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