Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) spoke to Washington Post columnist EJ Dionne about his speech in which he called for Israel to replace its government, insisting the speech was not meant to be an attack on Israel.
“I spent two months thinking about this and wrestling with it,” Schumer told Dionne, arguing the speech was an attempt to shore up support for the Israel, particularly among young Americans.
“Too many people are turning against Israel because of their dislike for [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu,” he claimed. “And I felt an imperative to show that you could be against Netanyahu and still be very pro-Israel, which of course I am.”
Schumer defended his call for early elections as consistent with the wishes Israelis themselves have expressed to pollsters.
“We’re not determining who Israel should pick,” Schumer told Dionne. “We’re just asking that they get a right to choose when so many people are just upset with the direction of the present government in Israel.”
Schumer’s speech was criticized by Republicans, but President Joe Biden on Friday indicated he supported Schumer’s remarks.
"He made a good speech," Biden said in the Oval Office when asked by reporters asked about Schumer's remarks.
"He expressed serious concerns, shared not only by him but by many Americans," Biden continued, adding that his staff were notified about the speech in advance by Schumer.
White House National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby later rejected assertions that Biden is calling for new elections in Israel.
Asked by a reporter whether Biden wants to see new elections in Israel and for Netanyahu to no longer be in power, Kirby replied, “That’s going to be up to the Israeli people to decide.”
To the question of what Biden found good about Senator Schumer’s speech, Kirby responded, “The President spoke about with which Leader Schumer made that speech. And the President said that he knows that those remarks, they resonate with many Americans out there.”
On Sunday, Netanyahu gave an interview to CNN in which he said that Schumer’s remarks were “totally inappropriate”.
Netanyahu said whether elections were held or not in Israel was something "the Israeli government does on its own."
"It's inappropriate...to go to a sister democracy and try to replace the elected leadership," said the Prime Minister, who added that it was up to the Israeli public to decide whether Israel should hold elections after the Israel-Hamas war is over.