Amid friction with Israeli leadership, Vice President Kamala Harris sidestepped a question about whether she considers Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to be a “real, close ally.”
“I think, with all due respect, the better question is, do we have an important alliance between the American people and the Israeli people? And the answer to that question is yes,” Harris told CBS’ “60 Minutes” in a preview clip.
Since the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas massacre in which 1,200 Israelis were killed, the Harris-Biden administration has, at times, found itself at loggerheads with Netanyahu over his response.
Seeking to avert a broader, protracted war, Harris and President Biden pushed back against certain Israeli military operations in Lebanon as well as the Gaza Strip and called for a ceasefire.
Monday, on a 60 Minutes election special, Bill Whitaker asks Vice President Kamala Harris if the U.S. lacks influence over American ally Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. https://t.co/TG3WOCA23A pic.twitter.com/IH6MXMjuCP
— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) October 6, 2024
Harris, 59, met with Netanyahu, 74, days after Biden bowed out of the 2024 race and underscored the plights of the Palestinian people, telling him publicly, “We cannot allow ourselves to become numb to the suffering — and I will not be silent.”
Biden, 81, has repeatedly clashed with Netanyahu, warning the US ally not to invade the southern Gazan city of Rafah without an adequate plan for civilians.
Last month, Biden declared at the United Nations that “Innocent civilians in Gaza are going through hell” and told reporters at his first appearance in the White House briefing room last Friday that he was unsure whether Netanyahu is “trying to influence the election.”
Harris, who has largely mirrored Biden on the Israel-Hamas war as they grapple with progressive backlash, also demurred about whether Netanyahu listens to the US and whether Washington still has “sway” over its ally.
“The work that we have done has resulted in a number of movements in that region by Israel that were very much prompted by or a result of many things, including our advocacy for what needs to happen in the region,” she said in response to that question about whether Netanyahu listens to the US.
She also reiterated her well-worn call for a ceasefire deal and the release of the hostages held by Hamas.
Notably, the last three presidents have had run-ins with Netanyahu, who served as prime minister for most of the last 15 years.
Former President Barack Obama famously had a hot mic slip-up about his Israeli counterpart. Former President Donald Trump accused Netanyahu of backing out at the last minute on the strike that killed Iranian Gen. Qasem Soleimani.
Harris’ interview with “60 Minutes” is set to air as an election special on Monday. The program reached out to Trump for a sit-down as well, but the two sides were unable to reach an agreement.
The Trump campaign later publicly lashed out at CBS News and demanded it issue an apology for reporter Lesley Stahl’s “fact check” during a 2020 interview in which she suggested The Post’s bombshell Hunter Biden laptop story “can’t be verified.”
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