On Wednesday’s broadcast of “CNN This Morning,” The Hill Congressional Reporter Mychael Schnell said she wonders if 2024 Democratic vice presidential candidate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz will “receive more pressure on” his past praise of a Muslim leader who spread antisemitic content and “if he’s going to be pushed into a place where he has to disavow this.” And argued that it’s “important to mention” that Walz’s comments “happened back in 2018, before he was in this position where he is right now on the ticket and before the October 7 attack, which really changed a lot in terms of Middle East relations and Israel and Palestine.”
Host Kasie Hunt stated that the content shared by the imam was “antisemitic” and said, “Mychael, this is a very tricky situation here. Obviously, some of the things that were noted in how this imam has conducted himself publicly really reach into difficult places, and then, politically, this is also a tough place for the Democratic ticket to be.”
Schnell responded, “Right. And we saw the Harris campaign respond in that manner. I’m curious to see if both Walz and Harris will receive more pressure on this matter, because, of course, the Israel-Hamas war and the situation in the Middle East has been a really hot-button issue for Democrats. It’s one that has strongly divided them, staunchly pro-Israel Democrats up against pro-Palestinian liberals who are concerned about the mounting humanitarian deaths in the Gaza Strip. This has really become a large matter for the Democratic Party, one that they’ve had issues working through during this election. Of course, antisemitism should not be tolerated under any circumstances. I’m curious to see though, if Walz is going to receive more pressure on this, if he’s going to be pushed into a place where he has to disavow this. But of course, important to mention that this happened back in 2018, before he was in this position where he is right now on the ticket and before the October 7 attack, which really changed a lot in terms of Middle East relations and Israel and Palestine.”
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
