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Fetterman blasts ‘germ of antisemitism’ in college protests, ‘living in a pup tent for Hamas’ not helpful

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Fetterman blasts ‘germ of antisemitism’ in college protests, ‘living in a pup tent for Hamas’ not helpful

Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., in a new interview, blasted the “germ of antisemitism” seen in anti-Israel protests unfolding on American college campuses.

“It’s a great American value to protest, but I don’t believe living in a pup tent for Hamas is really helpful,” Fetterman said on NewsNation’s “The Hill Sunday.”

“I want to be clear, there is a germ of antisemitism in these protests, and sometimes it flares up. And again, including one of the leaders in Columbia who said some just awful things, talking about ‘Well, they’re lucky we’re not killing Zionists’ and things like that, and he defends himself by saying, ‘Well, those were taken out of context.’” 

“And I’m like, that’s very similar to the way the college presidents, the same kind of language, and those kind of monocultures that create situations and that replicates. And now it’s not a surprise when you’re kind of seeing this manifest itself in a campus like this,” Fetterman said. 

FETTERMAN HAMMERS ‘A–HOLE’ ANTI-ISRAEL PROTESTERS, SLAMS OWN PARTY FOR RESPONSE TO IRANIAN ATTACK: ‘CRAZY’

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Sen. John Fetterman walks to the Senate chamber at the U.S. Capitol on April 23, 2024. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

The senator seemed to be referencing Khymani James, a Columbia protest leader who went viral online for suggesting the murder of Zionists, whom he likened to “White supremacists” and “Nazis.”

Fetterman reiterated support for Israel’s right to defend itself as a nation, going further to say the Jewish state also has the right “to go after and eliminate Hamas, or at least force them to surrender.” 

Anti-Israel encampment at Columbia

An anti-Israel encampment at Columbia University persists for the second week on April 27, 2024, at the Ivy League school’s New York City campus. (Selcuk Acar/Anadolu via Getty Images)

“I’m confused why we’re not talking about that more,” the Pennsylvania Democrat said. “And if you are going to protest, why aren’t we protesting… I can’t end that war, Joe Biden can’t end that war, Netanyahu can’t end that war, but Hamas could end it right now, immediately. They could release the last hostages, and they could surrender.”

FETTERMAN HIGHLIGHTS NEED FOR ‘SAFE, PURE, TAXED’ MARIJUANA IN 4/20 PUSH TO LEGALIZE WEED

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“And all of the misery and the death and destruction ends right there, too. So, for true peace, you cannot allow Hamas to function,” he added. “It’s very reasonable to make sure that Hamas needs to be neutralized.” 

Fetterman recalled how before the primaries he said, “I support peace and I support a two-state solution, but if the stuff hits the fan, I’m going to lean in on Israel, and that’s exactly what I’ve done.”

Palestine flag at Columbia encampment

The “Gaza Solidarity Encampment” at Columbia University on April 27, 2024. (Selcuk Acar/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Since enduring a stroke, Fetterman said he’s become more empathetic, especially when it comes to people with disabilities. The senator used a speech-to-text app on a tablet sitting on the studio table to better comprehend questions during the interview. 

 

Nodding to newfound support from some Republicans, Fetterman added, “I’ve been saying that for years… I really don’t identify myself as progressive. It’s not that I’ve changed, but that that word has changed.”

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Reports of Biden White House keeping 'sensitive' Hamas intel from Israel draws outrage

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Reports of Biden White House keeping 'sensitive' Hamas intel from Israel draws outrage

The White House on Monday pushed back on reports from the Times of Israel and Washington Post that it is offering “sensitive intelligence” to Israel on the whereabouts of Hamas leaders, if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declines to engage in a full-scale invasion of Rafah.

President Biden has in recent days warned Israel against incurring into the southern Gaza city, threatening to halt munitions shipments if an invasion commences.

Four people familiar with the situation told the Washington Post the administration is offering intel on Hamas tunnels and the hideouts of its leaders if Israel pulls back.

In a statement to Fox News Digital, a National Security Council spokesperson said the U.S. continues to help the IDF target Hamas leadership.

BIDEN’S HOLD ON ISRAEL WEAPONS SHIPMENT STUNS RETIRED US GENERAL: ‘THIS IS A TURNING POINT’

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that President Biden’s vow to withhold weapons from Israel will result in civilian casualties inside Gaza. (Fox News/Getty Images)

“[T]hat work continues on an ongoing basis. We’re not holding anything back,” the official said.

“We believe [Hamas chief Yahya] Sinwar should and indeed must be held accountable for the horrors of the October 7 attack.”

Former Trump National Security Council official Victoria Coates told Fox News Digital late Monday that intelligence sharing is the “bedrock of our security partnership with Israel.”

“It’s unique and extremely sophisticated, and if one partner is not fulfilling their obligations, it calls the whole thing into question,” Coates said.

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“So, if the administration has information on Hamas leadership, which… still holds eight Americans — five alive and three dead in Gaza — and isn’t sharing that with the Israelis and hasn’t shared it with the Israelis, this is deeply troubling.”

Coates, who is now the Heritage Foundation’s national security and foreign policy institute vice president, said that, if true, the report depicts the Biden administration as playing a “political game” versus a battle for the survival of the Jewish State.

BIDEN DONORS RAGE OVER HIS PLEDGE TO PAUSE WEAPON SHIPMENTS TO ISRAEL: ‘BAD, BAD, BAD DECISION’

When asked about allegations that the Biden administration has been playing politics with the Israel issue, Coates indicated Biden’s need to win the youth vote, which she described as more in favor of the Palestinians than any other U.S. age bloc.

“That’s what elected Biden in 2020 and staved off the red wave in 2022. So they know they need the 18-to-24 group. And what’s been revealed over the last six months is that group is strongly pro-Palestinian, if not overtly pro Hamas,” she said.

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“And so I think that’s actually the demographic they’re pandering to.”

Ric Grenell, who served as both Trump’s intel chief and ambassador to Germany, called the president’s behavior an “impeachable offense.”

“Let’s be clear, Joe Biden is using U.S. intelligence as a weapon to first demand help from Israel to win Michigan — when he should be providing every piece of intel we have in order to bring the American hostages held by Hamas home,” Grenell said on X, formerly Twitter.

Meanwhile, Fox News radio host Guy Benson called the report, “surreal.”

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According to the Post report, Biden and senior aides have also offered to help construct food delivery systems and shelter for Palestinians evacuated from Rafah. 

The White House has tried to sway the Israelis to conduct only targeted strikes within Rafah versus the tack threatened by Jerusalem, as well as hope more granular intelligence assistance to Israel could dissuade them from major offensives.

In an interview with CBS News on Sunday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the U.S. government retains the same objectives as the Israelis.

“We want to make sure that Hamas cannot govern Gaza again,” Blinken said.

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Biden, Trump head to Southern California in June for big-dollar fundraisers

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Biden, Trump head to Southern California in June for big-dollar fundraisers

President Biden and former President Trump are heading to Southern California in June for big-dollar fundraisers.

The former president arrives first for an event June 7 in Beverly Hills where top tickets go for $250,000 per person, according to an invitation obtained by The Times. The following day, he will headline a fundraiser in Newport Beach with donors being asked to contribute up to $100,000, and with multimillionaire tech entrepreneur Palmer Luckey among the hosts.

The locations of the events were not included on the invitations, but Luckey hosted a major fundraiser for the former president in the final weeks of the 2020 election at his Lido Isle estate.

The following weekend, Biden will appear at a major fundraiser at the Peacock Theater in downtown Los Angeles that will include appearances by former President Obama and celebrities George Clooney and Julia Roberts, according to a source who is raising money for the event and requested anonymity to speak candidly.

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The event, first reported by NBC News, comes after Biden’s West Coast swing last week that raised $10 million. The top donation amounts were not disclosed by the fundraiser or the campaign.

But at a December event in Holmby Hills, donors were asked to contribute up to $929,600 to the Biden Victory Fund, a joint fundraising committee that supports the president’s reelection campaign, the Democratic National Committee and state Democratic parties.

In 2012, Clooney hosted a fundraiser for Obama at his Studio City house that raised $15 million for his reelection effort, believed at the time to be the largest one-night campaign haul.

Despite California’s overwhelming Democratic tilt, the state’s donors bankroll presidential campaigns on both sides of the aisle. Biden and Trump have both raised more in the state for their reelection bids than anywhere else, according to fundraising disclosures filed with the Federal Election Commission.

Biden has raised $21 million from Californians through March 31, while Trump has raised $11.1 million.

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The disparity reflects Biden’s overall fundraising advantage over Trump. However, the president’s reelection bid is challenging, as seen in a poll released Monday that shows Trump leading Biden in five battleground states that are likely to decide the election.

The poll by the New York Times, Siena College and the Philadelphia Inquirer found Biden losing support among young and minority voters because of the economy and the war in Gaza.

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Jill Biden tells Arizona college graduates 'community colleges should be free in America'

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Jill Biden tells Arizona college graduates 'community colleges should be free in America'

First lady Jill Biden called for community college education to be “free in America” during her commencement address in Arizona to Mesa Community College’s class of 2024.

At the Saturday event in Tempe, on Arizona State University’s campus, Biden’s call was met with cheers from those assembled, as she further spoke about her own role as an educator at a Virginia community college while her husband serves in the White House.

“On behalf of President Biden, Vice President Harris, and the Second Gentleman: Congratulations, Class of 2024, we are so proud of you,” Biden said.

“I teach at a community college for the same reason students go to community colleges. They’re flexible and meet people where they are. And, as my husband, President Biden, says, they provide the ‘best career training in America.’”

FLASHBACK: BIDEN’S 2020 PLAN FOR FREE COMMUNITY COLLEGE, EXPANDED LOAN PROGRAMS

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First lady Jill Biden. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Biden praised Mesa Community College’s “Promise” program, which its website describes as a needs-based commitment from the city of Mesa to residents that eligible students can attend the school without paying tuition or registration fees.

“Community colleges should be free in America,” she said.

The first lady’s remarks come as the Biden administration continues to take heat over its machinations to cancel student loan debt.

Yet, the U.S. national debt is climbing at a rapid pace and has shown no signs of slowing down. As of last week, the national debt – which measures what the U.S. owes its creditors – rose to $34,541,727,970,599.17, according to the latest numbers published by the Treasury Department.

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In June 2023, the Supreme Court ruled against the Biden administration, in asserting 6-3 that federal law does not permit Education Secretary Miguel Cardona to cancel more than $430 billion in student loan debt.

GOP REP JABS EDUCATION SECRETARY OVER DEBT FORGIVENESS: ‘ARE CAR LOANS NEXT?’

In February, President Biden, in turn, received blowback for saying the high bench “didn’t stop me” after “my MAGA Republican friends” sued. 

One critic wrote on X that “one of the ‘nobody is above the law’ people is debunking that again,” while Rep. Mike Collins, R-Ga., said, “the decay of checks and balances isn’t a flex.”

In his 2020 campaign platform, Biden called for making community colleges and tech schools free.

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However, an analysis by The Associated Press suggested that the cost of his proposal stopped short of the $1 trillion mark, a figure associated with the more expansive education funding plans championed by his progressive counterparts, Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.

President Biden’s 2025 fiscal budget also seeks $90 billion to expand access to free community college despite congressional and judicial resistance.

During a hearing last week before the House Education & Workforce Committee, Cardona was confronted by a Republican member over the administration’s overall efforts to forgive student debt.

Rep. Lisa McClain, R-Mich., pointedly asked if car loans are next on the administration’s debt-cancellation agenda, while also appearing to suggest the administration sees themselves as “above the law.”

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“Mr. Secretary, President Biden’s Department of Education has canceled $153 billion in student loans, with plans to cancel $1.4 trillion. The House of Representatives said no – We actually passed legislation on that – The Senate said no. The Fifth Circuit Court said no. And the highest court in the land, the Supreme Court, said no,” McClain said.

“Yet you continue to march on. I would like to know what makes you qualified to ignore the majority of Congress and the Supreme Court.”

Fox News’ Lindsay Kornick, Elizabeth Elkind and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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