Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi spoke out against the invitation for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to address Congress, describing it as “wrong” and adding that she would not have invited him had she still been serving as House Speaker.
Pelosi made the comments in an interview with CNN on Friday, hours after House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell announced that Netanyahu will address a joint session of Congress on Wednesday, July 24.
“I think this is wrong. Frankly, I didn't approve of his being invited the last time. But the speaker, just on his own, invited him without consulting with the rest of the leadership. And he came and he criticized President Obama for the masterful work that he had done with the nuclear agreement regarding Iran to stop them from developing a nuclear weapon,” said Pelosi, referring to Netanyahu’s last address to Congress in March of 2015.
Pelosi continued, “I wish that he would be a statesman and do what is right for Israel. We all love Israel. We fought for Israel. October 7th was terrible. Hamas is a terrorist organization. They're dedicated to the destruction of Israel. The hostages are not free. The people of Gaza are suffering. We need to help them and not have him stand in the way of that for such a long time.
She was about the statement by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who said he had joined the invitation to Netanyahu despite his disagreements with him “because America’s relationship with Israel is ironclad and transcends one person or prime minister.”
“I don't think it's a wise decision, but I respect other people to have their own view of it,” she replied, adding, “And Chuck is a strong supporter of Israel, as am I. And because I don't support Netanyahu doesn't mean I don't support Israel. But I'm not making a judgment about anybody's invitation or anybody's attendance. It's completely up to them.”