As president, what would you do to ensure not another Palestinian dies due to bombs being funded by U.S. Tax dollars? So I will say, and I think this is to your point, far too many innocent Palestinian civilians have been killed. It's unconscionable. [00:00:17] What do you say to voters who are thinking about supporting a third party candidate or staying on the couch, not voting at all because of this issue? For many people who care about this issue, they also care about bringing down the price of groceries. They also care about our democracy and not having a president of the United States [00:00:36] who admires dictators and is a fascist. Vice President Kamala Harris is really struggling with an issue that's been haunting her presidential campaign. And of course, that issue is how the Biden administration has handled the ongoing [00:00:53] and ever spreading war in the Middle East. And she keeps fumbling on this issue because she knows that the Democratic base would like a cease fire, would like Israel to, you know, stop bombing the crap out of Gaza and Lebanon. [00:01:09] But she also knows that her donors don't want that, that there's a disagreement between these two parties that back her. And so as a result, she tries to kind of straddle the issue. And nothing made that clearer than the way she answered the question during the CNN town hall. [00:01:25] Now, before I get to how this all went down, Jake, any just quick thoughts on it? Yeah. So it's unconscionable what's happening to the Palestinians. That's why we've given Israel $26 billion to do it. I don't think you fund things that are unconscionable, right. [00:01:41] So she might not understand what that word means, but wait till you get a load of why the media is criticizing her answer here a little bit later in this story. So as you heard in the video, an undecided voter stands up. She's leaning toward voting for Kamala Harris. [00:01:59] But the one thing that's really kind of holding her back is the Israel issue. And so she asks about that. And Harris responded by saying that, you know, now that the leader of Hamas, Yahya Sinwar, has been killed by Israel, it provides an opportunity to agree to a ceasefire, to return the hostages [00:02:18] and return the Middle East to a more peaceful existence. But we all know that Israel only intensified its war in Gaza following the death of Yahya Sinwar. And so there. I mean, sure, it opens up an opportunity, but that's an opportunity [00:02:34] that the Israeli government very clearly has zero interest in. And so that's when Anderson Cooper jumps in and asks this question. What do you say to voters who are thinking about supporting a third party candidate or staying on the couch, not voting at all because of this issue? [00:02:54] Listen, I am not going to deny the strong feelings that people have. I don't know that anyone who has seen the images, who would not have strong feelings about what has happened, much less those who have relatives [00:03:11] who have died and been killed. And I and I know people, I've talked with people. So I appreciate that. But I also do know that for many people who care about this issue, they also care about bringing down the price of groceries. [00:03:26] They also care about our democracy and not having a president United States who admires dictators and is a fascist. They also care about the fact that we need practical, common sense solutions from a leader who is willing to work across the aisle on behalf [00:03:43] of the American people and not themselves. She also said that, you know, these voters care about protecting reproductive rights as well. And so that might be more of a priority than what's happening with our tax dollars being funneled to [00:04:00] a government that's currently slaughtering a ton of children who are trapped in a small strip of land. And look, she might be right about that. But what I thought was interesting, Jake, is that she starts off by just quickly mentioning, oh, they want the price of groceries to come down. You are the vice president right now. Biden is the president. [00:04:17] You guys seem to recognize that inflation was an issue, but they did nothing about it. So. Okay. I mean, what is the argument to support you because you're allegedly going to make grocery prices go down if you're not doing it right now? Yeah. Look, I don't think it's as simple as they didn't do anything about inflation. [00:04:34] And I think that. - What did they do for. - Inflation. And she did offer price gouging thing. We don't believe she's going to do it. - No I don't believe she's going to do. - And she backtracked from it. But she did. That was the first thing that she addressed. But I don't want to get sidetracked into that just as she did. Right. So look, if you're talking about an average person and you say they might [00:04:51] be more worried about gas prices than the Palestinian children being killed, unfortunately that might be true. But if you're talking about this topic. And she just mentioned, oh, I know people whose family members have been killed in the war, right? So are you saying to those people in this context? [00:05:08] Now, I know your mom was killed by the Israelis, but remember, gas is slightly higher now. And so, you know, I'm worried about the price of. I know you're worried about the price of bread and nutty bars and Quarter Pounders as much as the fact that a foreign nation that we fund, killed your mom. [00:05:26] No, they're not as worried about that. No. The people whose family members have been killed are, like, could not be more distraught over the fact that they were forced to pay for that killing through our taxes. So I'm going to get to some of the polling on how the Democratic base [00:05:43] feels about this issue, how independents, the swing voters feel about this issue in just a moment. But, you know, before I do, since we're on the topic of inflation, I know you don't want to go off on a side tangent, but it is related to Israel. Okay. Explain to me how enabling Israel and [00:06:00] the near future war that Israel is going to drag the United States in, in Iran is somehow going to make inflation better. - No, it's going to make it way worse. - Way worse. Yeah. Because gas prices will skyrocket. Exactly. Iran is a major oil producing country. [00:06:15] We go to war with them. Obviously that resource is going to be limited. It's going to be constrained. And as a result, there's going to be less supply on the international market that's going to make gas prices go up. On the other hand, ExxonMobil will have more money and so will Raytheon. [00:06:31] And they'll both be able to donate to Kamala Harris and Donald Trump and to all the Republicans and all the Democrats. And so will AIPAC and so will J Street. Look, guys, the entire CNN cable news, all of it is theater. They never asked real questions. That question by the end devolved into. [00:06:50] Are you saying that Trump is more pro-Israel than you, which sent her into a slight panic? Right. Because you have to be more pro. They're asking you, I'm not going to give you my vote if you're for the slaughter that Israel is carrying out by the end. But seven minutes later, they're about, well, who cheerleading for [00:07:06] Israel's wars more you or Donald Trump? And that was a lot of the media critique. I thought they were going to critique her for not giving a clear answer, because this is costing her so much in the polls. Suzanne is about to show you, right know, a couple of critiques I read were like, she seemed to be slightly questioning Israel, totally ineffectually. [00:07:24] But this is a problem. This is a problem. If someone doesn't want to give all of your money to Israel to slaughter those children. Poor answer, poor answer. She should have cheerleading more. You don't have to. The next person came up and asked about anti-Semitism, and then Kamala Harris started talking about, oh yeah, round up all the peace protesters. [00:07:41] They're vile, they're anti-Semites, etc. So where's the sympathy for Palestinians? Every time she talks about sympathy for Palestinians, it is an utter lie. It's fake. It's totally. 100% lie. It's totally phony. And she is a coward. [00:07:56] And honestly, she discussed me on this issue beyond belief. So let's get to the data for progress polling, which shows you that, you know, when it comes to young voters. Quite a bit of them would like a ceasefire and are not in favor of what's going on right now in the Middle East. [00:08:12] So data for progress tweets that in our survey of voters aged 18 to 29, we found that young voters support imposing an arms embargo on Israel by a plus 26 point margin. Okay. So that's can I tell you something interesting in that poll. So in her own base, Democrats is plus 41 right. [00:08:32] So if she wants voter turnout she should definitely say weapons embargo. Right. But what's interesting is that independents are also plus 13. So if you want to win over independents, that's going to bring in a lot of more young independent voters. But Republicans are plus 16 on that issue, young Republicans even more so [00:08:52] than independents. So it's an interesting fact that the young, both on the left and the right are saying, wait, why are we funding Israel's disastrous genocidal war? I don't want to fund it, the right wing says. [00:09:07] And the left wing says, and the middle says they all agree. All the young at least agree overwhelmingly. And everyone in Washington, Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, scream in their face, no, I'm more pro-Israel. I will fund them more. Okay, well then don't cry after you lose an election because you preferred [00:09:27] to to follow the orders of your donors rather than win the election. Why don't you go get their votes? And my biggest issue with with it's not just Kamala Harris. It's just the Democratic Party overall. Right? They have no vision for the future. They don't feel like they need to really think anything through. [00:09:45] All they hang their hat on election cycle after election cycle. Is Trump bad? He's a fascist. I mean, she immediately pivoted to. He's a fascist. - Immediately, immediately. - But look, look. We've been hearing that same message for so many years now, and you need to give people more than Trump is a fascist, believe it or not. [00:10:05] People aren't buying it. They're just not. Clearly the electorate isn't buying it. It's not a persuasive message. The Democrats are lazy as hell. They don't have a vision for the future. And honestly, if they lose, it is going to be their fault. She was awful in this town hall. Yeah, it was wall to wall. [00:10:22] Trump bad. Trump bad I get it. I know Trump bad. What are you what are you going to do for us? So look two things here. Number one, I believe that Trump is close to fascism. And so I'm deeply concerned about that. [00:10:37] That's why I would like Kamala Harris to try to win the election instead of going well. But after I win, how shall I please the donors even more for the next time that I run and the donors? The Democratic Party needs those donors, donors, donors. You've got to actually get the voters. [00:10:54] Every poll is showing you that if you switch your position on this, it's not just younger voters. A majority of voters want you to switch your position on this. Then you pick. I saw a poll that she picks up five points in Michigan. I saw another poll. She picks up four points nationally if she's for a weapons embargo. [00:11:11] But. Right. But ten days before an election, she's like, nope, I won't do it. I don't want those votes. I don't want those votes. The money is more important to me. Well, if you're dumb and you say, I don't care, I'm so corrupt, I'm just going to take the donor money. Don't come crying later. And you know what they're going to do? [00:11:28] - They're going to blame the voters. - They always do. They're like, oh, those voters wouldn't vote for us. It's their fault. A young black man wouldn't vote for us. Latinos wouldn't vote for us. Hey, did you ever examine why? Because. And that leads to point number two guys. So. And oh, sorry. [00:11:44] Just to finish that point, even if you're concerned as I am about fascism here. Well, what's Israel doing? They're shooting five year olds in the head. They're at record rate according to the American doctors. They're killing journalists at a record rate. They're killing human rights workers at a record rate. They're doing ethnic cleansing. [00:12:00] They've got the Jabalia death march going on right now. It is a. That is a fascist state that you're supporting that has been, brutalizing Palestinians for 57 straight years in an oppressive occupation. And you're saying we have to support Israel because Donald Trump is fascist. [00:12:18] Netanyahu is a 10,000 times bigger, proven fascist. And of course, you can't say that on television because then they'll say, oh, are you not sufficiently pro-Israel? Everybody in corporate media yell at him, yell at him. And the only thing I'll give credit to Kamala Harris for. [00:12:34] I just don't think the Biden White House is really concerned about fascism. They're aiding and abetting what's going on right now in the Middle East, and they really have no leg to stand on. Like, that's the thing that I can't stomach, that they present themselves as, you know, the beacons of democracy, the people who are really going out [00:12:52] of their way to protect the people. How are they protecting the people? They're literally taking resources from the people in order to fund a government that is full to the brim with fascist politicians and literal terrorists, people who are considered terrorists by their own country. [00:13:08] And you want to sit here and tell us we need to support you, because there is a threat of fascism in our country. Come on. The only caveat I was going to give is that if Kamala Harris says that she would do a weapons embargo, her issue isn't with the American people. [00:13:24] The American people in every poll indicate that they are in favor of that. And she would pick up a bunch of votes. Her issue is with mainstream media, because mainstream media will take her head off. Ten days before an election, they'll all scream that she's an anti-Semite, even though she's married to a Jewish guy. They'll all say that she's the betrayed, our greatest ally, [00:13:42] and she's the worst person alive. How dare she defy the great, great Israel? And so she's worried not just about the donors, but that corporate media would level her. Ten days before an election. So if you think corporate media wouldn't take her head off if she says she's [00:13:58] stopping funding of Israel right now, you don't know anything about - American politics or American media. - Yeah, of course they would. Media has basically done wall to wall coverage trying to take Donald Trump's head off, and it hasn't worked. And the reason why it hasn't worked is because he presents himself, [00:14:15] whether you like him or not, as someone who's far more authentic than a traditional establishment politician. So imagine having someone on the Democratic side who stands for the right issues, who wants to fight for the right things and is actually authentic and doesn't come across as an empty suit that will say whatever the donors tell her to say. [00:14:34] And that's the way Kamala Harris comes across. - So keeping it 100. - So that leads to the second point. Look guys, we told you this many times, but now it's becoming so stark because at this point Donald Trump has has a slight lead. We're running out of runway here. There's almost no time left. So what the Democrats needed to do and what she can still do. [00:14:54] Although again, running out of time is, give a positive view of what you're going to do. Not that joy thing that she did, which was not bad as a strategy in the beginning, but like this. But you can't. The whole campaign can't be. Hey, hey, everybody have fun. Yeah, yeah, but what are you going to do with that, joy? [00:15:11] So are you going to give us paid family leave so moms can take 12 weeks off? No, you didn't even propose that. Why not? Well, Mark Cuban, 84%, but of course, the business community doesn't want it. Right? Are you going to fight for higher minimum wage? How can we drop that like a rock? Or how about the public option? You dropped all of these things, all these things that are intensely popular. [00:15:29] Anti-war is very popular, but so are all of those economically populist proposals. And she's not talking about any of them because the donors will not allow it. So then who's going to be at fault if Kamala Harris loses? It is inarguable, other than Kamala Harris, which is personal responsibility, [00:15:48] there's no question. And Democratic leadership, they're almost always wrong. They always take the wrong track, etc. But mainly the donors. The donors insisted that she take deeply, deeply unpopular positions for their benefit. [00:16:04] And then if she loses, then you can't cry. Okay, and I'm glad you wasted all of your money, because you ruined our chance of beating Donald Trump by insisting on your greed and your infinite avarice and your disdain for the American people. [00:16:20] All right, so we're not the only ones who are critical of the way Kamala Harris handled herself during this town hall. Throughout the entire thing, she refused to answer questions directly. Lots of word salad action going on. And that's not just me saying it. Here's David Axelrod. When she doesn't want to answer a question, her habit is [00:16:39] to kind of go to a word salad city. And she did that on a couple of answers. One was on Israel. Anderson asked a direct question, would you be stronger on Israel than Trump? And there was a seven minute answer, but none of it related to the question he was asking. [00:16:55] And so, you know, on certain questions like that. So Axelrod is correct, and this is in reference to something that Jake had mentioned earlier in the segment, and it was the question of, okay, well, who's more loyal to Israel? [00:17:11] Is it you or is it Donald Trump? And here's how that played out. Do you believe Donald Trump is anti-Semitic? I believe Donald Trump is a danger to the well-being and security of America. He has said that he he's casting himself as a protector of Israel. [00:17:29] Do you believe you would be more pro-Israel than Donald Trump? I believe that Donald Trump is dangerous. I believe that when you have a president of the United States who has said to his generals who work for him because he is commander in chief, [00:17:44] these conversations, I assume many of them took place in the Oval Office. And if the president of the United States, the commander in chief is saying to his generals, in essence, why can't you be more like Hitler's generals, Anderson? [00:18:00] Come on. So that's what Axelrod was referring to, immediately pivoted to Donald Trump is a threat to democracy. He couldn't even answer, couldn't answer the question about, you know, whether, you know, Trump would be [00:18:15] a more supportive president toward Israel. And by the way, I want to be clear about something. I don't agree with Donald Trump on this issue. Donald Trump says things that are incredibly unhinged. I am concerned about the U.S. Being dragged into war with Iran. [00:18:31] I am concerned about what Israel is going to do in Iran, and how that's going to have an impact on the global economy. And if you're wondering what I'm referring to, let's just hear a word from Donald Trump on this issue real quick before I go to Jake. We're going to take care of Israel. And they know that Bibi called me yesterday. [00:18:46] He called me the day before. And we have a very good relationship. And I have to say they've done. Fortunately, they didn't listen to Biden because if they listened to Biden, they'd right now be waiting for a bomb to drop on them. And they did their own work. They did not listen. They couldn't listen because what he was asking, in fact, [00:19:04] just the other day they said to him, are you okay with what they're doing? Well, I don't want them to attack the nuclear and I don't want them to attack the oil. I said, really? That's sort of the opposite. If you go and take the exact opposite for 40 years of Biden's foreign policy, [00:19:22] you would be one of the greatest. Just take the opposite. You'd be one of the greatest in the history of foreign policy. Now, understand that Donald Trump isn't saying I would do the opposite of Joe Biden, and I would actually implement an arms embargo toward Israel. No, no, no, he's saying I wouldn't even, you know, [00:19:40] tweak Israel vocally or rhetorically, which is the only thing Biden has done. Biden doesn't want Israel to bomb the oil fields, and For obvious reasons. We all know that it's going to lead to massive inflation and a global economic crisis. [00:19:55] But anyway, both options are total garbage when it comes to this issue. Total garbage. So Netanyahu and the right wing in Israel has made it very clear they want Donald Trump to win. And so so if you're thinking, oh, Kamala Harris is bad on this issue, you're 100% right. But if you think Trump is better, you're 100% wrong. [00:20:13] He is promising a thousand times over that he's going to be worse on this issue. And by the way, if you're a right winger and you're anti-war, your candidate isn't. So I know you're never going to believe that until he makes you pay for all of Israel's wars. And he starts sending in troops there to help Israel [00:20:29] because his donors told him to. But that's his current position. So has anybody asked Donald Trump, will you cut funding to Israel because you keep saying you're going to cut funding to Ukraine and because, oh, America first. So are you going to cut funding to Israel? The answer is absolutely not. [00:20:45] He'll probably send them more money. So yeah, we're damned if we do, damned if we don't. But I want to go back to Anderson Cooper's framing, right? So when we're on this topic, he says, so wait a minute. Are you saying that Donald Trump is more pro-Israel or who's more pro-Israel? [00:21:00] You have to prove it. Wait a minute. What do you mean, pro-Israel? That doesn't mean doesn't make any sense. If you opposed Iraq, America's war against Iraq, that didn't mean you were anti-American. And if you support it, it didn't mean you were pro-American. You were agreeing or disagreeing with a policy of the current government [00:21:16] of of America. Same thing in Israel. It's not if you're questioning what Israel is doing, it doesn't mean you hate Israel or you want to destroy Israel. What it means is, hey, I wanted Israel to be a safe and beautiful place, but I'm not in favor of the right wing government that is driving Israel off a cliff. [00:21:33] Right now. My position is more pro-Israel than any of their positions, because I would get Israel back on the right track, two independent states so you could finally rest easy peace deal with Egypt, it could work with the Palestinians, etc.. So this framing of being pro Pro-war. [00:21:50] Being pro-Israel is corporate media cheerleading for war while pretending that they're helping an ally. And so. So look, at the end of the day, her answer was horrific. And and then but people criticize her saying she wasn't sufficiently [00:22:07] ass kissing enough of Israel. So our system is just sick, and then you turn. Well, do I have an alternative? You turn to Trump and he's like, why haven't we started a war already? Let's bomb Iran. Come on, let's bomb them. Bomb them. By the way, I'm anti-war. MAGA, this is your guy. [00:22:23] Come get your boy. Thanks for watching The Young Turks. Really appreciate it. Another way to show support is through YouTube memberships. You'll get to interact with us more. There's live chat emojis, badges. You've got emojis of me Anna John Jr. So those are super fun. [00:22:39] But you also get playback of our exclusive member only shows and specials right after they air. So all of that, all you got to do is click that join button right underneath the video. Thank you.