Rep. Rich McCormick told Newsmax on Wednesday that President Joe Biden's refusal to play host to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House over controversial judicial reforms Netanyahu favors is "embarrassing."
The proposed judicial reforms have sparked multiple protests in Israel among fears they will weaken the country's democracy and lead to authoritarian rule.
"Like many strong supporters of Israel, I'm very concerned," Biden said Tuesday. "And I'm concerned that they get this straight. They cannot continue down this road. And I've sort of made that clear. Hopefully, the prime minister will act in a way that he is going to try to work out some genuine compromise. But that remains to be seen."
Biden said Netanyahu will not be invited to the White House in the near term and that he did not tell Netanyahu his opinion personally, but instead through the U.S. ambassador to Israel, Thomas Nides.
McCormick told "Rob Schmitt Tonight" that no one should be surprised about Biden's conduct, given the frosty relationship between the allies during this administration and when Biden was vice president during the Obama administration, when Netanyahu was prime minister.
"If you look at [Biden's] history, who he does meet with is communist leaders, who he does meet with are those people who do things that are much more egregious when it comes to the way they treat their people," McCormick said. "But he won't meet with one of the most important political figures of our time: Mr. Netanyahu, who has been historically one of the best allies we could possibly have.
"It's embarrassing."
About NEWSMAX TV:
NEWSMAX is the fastest-growing cable news channel in America!
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.