Rep. David Kustoff, R-Tenn., told Newsmax on Friday it was disrespectful of Vice President Kamala Harris to skip Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's address to Congress on Wednesday.
Kustoff, appearing on "American Agenda," noted that Harris, the presumptive Democrat presidential nominee, had presided over six other addresses by foreign leaders, and that her needing to attend a meeting in Indiana on Wednesday was not valid.
"She could have done that at any time, I guarantee you," Kustoff said. "[She] is the vice president of the United States. That college is going to work around her and not the other way around."
Kustoff pointed out when Harris met with Netanyahu on Thursday, it was obvious she was uncomfortable.
"Whether she's trying to thread the needle with her progressive left folks in Michigan and other states within her party, I don't know the answer to that," Kustoff said. "I just know she's got a duty and an obligation as the vice president to preside over that joint session, and she abdicated. "
Israel is greatest ally of the U.S. in the Middle East, Kustoff said.
"The rest of the world, Hamas, all the enemies of Israel, Iran, they need to know that the United States is absolutely, positively, solidly behind Israel," Kustoff said. "The fact that she wasn't presiding on Wednesday, the… icy meeting that she had yesterday with Netanyahu — those are not good signals. We need to we need to make sure that the rest of the world knows that we're going to do whatever we need to do to support Israel."
Kustoff contrasted the record of Harris with former President Donald Trump, who he said was the greatest president for Israel.
"President Trump moved our embassy to Jerusalem and negotiated the Abraham Accords, which is a tremendous benefit not only for Israel but the rest of the Middle East," Kustoff said.
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Sam Barron ✉
Sam Barron has almost two decades of experience covering a wide range of topics including politics, crime and business.
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