Bernie Sanders: Israel Support Could Be Biden's Vietnam

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., appeared on CNN, Thursday, to warn President Joe Biden's continued support for Israel during its war with Hamas could be his Vietnam.

In an interview with Christiane Amanpour, Sanders compared Biden to President Lyndon B. Johnson, whose presidency unraveled over his handling of the Vietnam War.

"This may be Biden's Vietnam," Sanders said. "Lyndon Johnson … was a very good president domestically. He chose not to run because of opposition to his views in Vietnam. I worry very much that President Biden is putting himself in a position where he has alienated not just young people, but a lot of the Democratic base in terms of his views on Israel and this war."

While condemning any violence or antisemitism and bigotry, Sanders said he supported the protesters at college campuses across the country.

"They are out there not because they are pro-Hamas," Sanders said. "They are out there because they are outraged by what the Israeli government is now doing in Gaza. They are out there for the right reasons to protest U.S. continued military aid and money to a right-wing extremist."

Sanders has opposed providing more money to Israel as long as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is charge.

"Israel has a right to go to war against Hamas," Sanders said. "They do not have a right to go to war in the way they are, against the Palestinian people. The United States government has a right to say to Netanyahu, you're not getting another nickel unless you let humanitarian aid go in, unless you stop the imminent famine… unless we move toward a two-state solution."

The Vermont senator said he was arrested in the 1960s after taking over the administration office at the University of Chicago during civil rights demonstrations. Sanders credited demonstrations with helping to make progress on civil rights, ending apartheid, women's rights, and combating homophobia.

• Schumer, Johnson to Invite Netanyahu to Address Congress
• Harvard Poll: 8 in 10 Support Israel in Hamas War