Vice President Kamala Harris declined to say Sunday whether Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is a reliable ally, in a clip released by CBS News’ 60 Minutes.
Harris was presented with a series of controversial (but effective) wartime decisions made by Netanyahu against the express public demands of the Biden administration, then asked whether the U.S. still has any “sway” over Netanyahu.
Harris was not clear in her reply, calling diplomatic relations with Israel an “ongoing pursuit.”
“Do we have a real close ally in Prime Minister Netanyahu?” the interviewer persisted.
“I think, with all due respect, the better question is do we have an important alliance between the American people and the Israeli people?” Harris replied. “And the answer to that question is yes.”
Harris boycotted Netanyahu’s address to Congress in July to attend a sorority lunch.
President Joe Biden has also treated Netanyahu as something of a pariah, backing calls by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) earlier this year for Israelis to oust Netanyahu from office and hold new elections.
Democrats have generally given Netanyahu the cold shoulder, but his popularity has risen in Israel since October 7, and his coalition would be re-elected if new elections were held today, according to one recent poll.
Israelis tend to be wary of Harris, believing that she is hostile to their interests. On Sunday, one of Netanyahu’s minister criticized Harris for announcing hundreds of millions of dollars to aid in Lebanon, even as Hezbollah continued to attack Israel from Lebanese territory.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of The Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days, available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency, now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
