Rep. Khanna on supporting US aid to Israel: 'The free ride is over' - ABC News

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ABC News’ Jonathan Karl interviews Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., on “This Week.”

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Transcript:

Jonathan Karl: We're joined now by Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna of California. Thank you for being here. Really appreciate.

Ro Khanna: Always good to be here.

Karl: So, uh I know you've obviously been adamantly opposed to this war in the first place. What do you make of this latest development though? Another round of peace talks.

Khanna: Well, they said uh they want to escalate to deescalate. They've escalated to devastation. I mean, you have the Pope lecturing America about possible war crimes. You have the president, as you pointed out, threatening to destroy all power plants. I didn't think we would get ever get to that point. You have the Strait of Hormuz that is now blocked. This never happened before the war. What have we achieved? Gas is up from $2.30 to four bucks. You have now Iran having a more hardline regime as we just heard and all our allies like UAE being hit. I mean, we've created devastation and we're being lectured by the Pope.

Karl: But let let me ask you, you you've called the war, I think I have this correct, the biggest blunder in American foreign policy in the 21st century. If this gets to a resolution, I mean, if they actually, and I know that's a big if, but if they actually get to a resolution where Iran has given up its nuclear program and you know there is there is a peace deal, maybe even a peace deal with Lebanon, are you prepared to revise that and say that they actually got something out of it and it wasn't a blunder?

Khanna: If we actually achieve something, but the enriched uranium is still there, we have a more hardline regime there, Khamenei Jr. actually wants to develop nuclear weapons. Does anyone believe that we actually have more leverage over the Strait of Hormuz? We have less. China has more influence in Iran. And we've lost our entire moral credibility.

We have a president of the United States threatening to wipe out Iranian civilization. And people think it's normal. And then you have a situation where our troops are at risk, where a president who campaigned on peace is spending now $400 billion dollars to spend more money on these words. Why aren't we spending that on healthcare here, jobs here, childcare here? Why aren't we addressing the needs of the American people? I'm team America. He seems to be more obsessed with the Middle East

Karl: So, let me ask you about Israel. Uh you were one of 40 40 I mean, you're not in the Senate, but there were 40 Senate Democrats who voted to halt uh the the the uh sale of military equipment to Israel, something you agreed with clearly. Uh, is the Democratic Party no longer a pro-Israeli party?

Khanna: We're a party that believes in two states and peace. But let me tell you what we're not for. We're not for aid to Israel. They've got a $45 billion defense budget. Why are we giving them money? Why aren't we providing it for healthcare here? Why aren't we providing it for childcare here?

By the way, that's not just a issue on the Democratic party. You look at Republican voters under 50. They agree with me. And then you look at what the devastation was in Gaza. Why aren't we doing the Arab peace plan which by by the way the UA UAE foreign minister has supported of two states. You have a Palestinian state and a uh which is demilitarized and an Israeli state. That's what we are for. We should be for peace and we should be for justice in that region.

Karl: But but that seemed to be a big moment to see the vast majority of Democrats in the Senate say no more military sales right now to to Israel.

Khanna: Well, what they said is no more bulldozers that are destroying Palestinian villages. That it's unjust. I mean, the young people in this country, when I met Netanyahu years ago, I said to him, "Uh, Mr. Prime Minister, you may have won the battle. You've lost the war because you've lost the next generation in America. We don't think you're acting morally.”

We have a sense that people in Palestine, they deserve justice. They deserve a state. And yes, we need to have a secure Israel, but not an Israel led by Netanyahu, who killed 70,000 people in Gaza. Not an Israel, that is going to be raining bombs in Beirut. And not a prime minister sitting in our Situation Room.

Let me tell you what a Democratic president is never going to do. An Israeli prime minister is not going to be sitting in our Situation Room telling the American president what to do. Only Americans will be in that Situation Room.

Karl: You went further than even most of your Democratic colleagues. you uh called for a stop of funding for defensive weapons to Iran, including Iron Dome, which is something you had supported. I remember you and I spoke about it on this show not all that long ago. Um you said it was something that protected not just Israelis, but also Palestinians.

Khanna: I am for the Iron Dome technology. I'm glad UAE has it. I'm glad Israel has t.

Karl: You don't think that we should give it to Israel anymore?

Khanna: Why? Why can't they afford it with $45 billion? Even Rahm Emanuel agrees with me. I mean, why are we subsidizing one of the richest countries in the world? They have health care for all their people. Why aren't we putting that money in our communities for our jobs? Do I want them to have Iron Dome? Absolutely. I want any country to to have Iron Dome to protect their uh citizens, but the free ride is over. They're not going to be uh getting American tax dollars and they're certainly not going to be dictating to the American president. The American president will call the shots.

Karl: And and very quickly it's an election year in Israel. If Netanyahu is removed and he faces a tough re-election battle, new leader in Israel, was that does that change your view on this?

Khanna: Doesn't change my view on aid. It does does change my view about uh how we will cooperate or not. I mean, they should recognize that this relationship is going to depend on them uh fighting for justice, recognizing a Palestinian state, working towards peace uh and actually not insulting the American public and the American president. I mean, the American people are understand that we have gotten into wars in the Middle East. They're tired of it. They're tired of our money going there. They want us to focus on the economy here at home.

Karl: All right, Congressman Ro Khanna, really appreciate your time. Thank you.

Khanna: Thank you.

[Hey Joe]

1. Amen

Enough supporting this terrorist state that has developed a taste for genocide and nonstop territorial conquest.
Fuck the Israeli government.

How very far they have fallen