Vice President Kamala Harris declined to say whether she considers Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu an ally, ducking a basic foreign policy question as she seeks to shore up votes among the Democratic Party’s anti-Israel wing.
Harris, in an interview with CBS News's 60 Minutes set to air in full on Monday, was asked whether the United States has "a real close ally" in Netanyahu. Harris did not answer.
"I think, with all due respect, the better question is, 'Do we have an important alliance between the American people and the Israeli people,'" she responded. "And the answer to that question is yes."
Harris’s non-answer comes as the VP's campaign works to court anti-Israel voters in battleground states such as Michigan, where more than 100,000 people voted "uncommitted" in the Democratic presidential primary.
Harris campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez went to Dearborn in August to meet with Arab-American community leader Osama Siblani, who has called Hamas and Hezbollah terrorists "freedom fighters." Gov. Tim Walz (D., Minn.), Harris's running mate, spoke at a Thursday campaign event with Emgage Action, a Muslim advocacy group that backs the anti-Israel boycott movement and blamed the Jewish state for provoking Hamas's Oct. 7 terror attack.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment. The State Department declined to comment.
In the same 60 Minutes interview, Harris had difficulty answering a question about her administration’s efforts to pressure Israel into inking a ceasefire with Hamas and Hezbollah.
60 Minutes: But it seems that Prime Minister Netanyahu is not listening
Kamala Harris: 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… pic.twitter.com/a0EluwH4a0
— Kevin Dalton (@TheKevinDalton) October 6, 2024
"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.