Former Rep. John Delaney John DelaneyCoronavirus Report: The Hill's Steve Clemons interviews Rep. Rodney Davis Eurasia Group founder Ian Bremmer says Trump right on China but wrong on WHO; CDC issues new guidance for large gatherings The Hill's Coronavirus Report: Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas says country needs to rethink what 'policing' means; US cases surpass 2 million with no end to pandemic in sight MORE (D-Md.), who is currently running a longshot White House bid, slammed fellow candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders Bernie SandersOutrage erupts over Breonna Taylor grand jury ruling Dimon: Wealth tax 'almost impossible to do' Grand jury charges no officers in Breonna Taylor death MORE (I-Vt.) over comments he made Monday calling Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government “racist.”

“It is not productive to resort to name-calling when referring to the democratically-elected government of our closest ally in the Middle East," Delaney said in a statement. "Our next president should be focused on strengthening our alliances around the world, not weakening them. Our alliance with Israel is 100 percent in our national interest and has always enjoyed, and must continue to enjoy, bipartisan support."

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Delaney added that if elected, he will "proudly" work to strengthen the U.S.-Israel relationship.

Sanders, currently a front-runner in the crowded Democratic primary, made the comments during a CNN town hall earlier this week, calling Netanyahu's coalition a "right-wing, dare I say racist, government."

"I am not anti-Israel," Sanders continued. "But the fact of the matter is Netanyahu is a right-wing politician who I think is treating the Palestinian people extremely unfairly."

Netanyahu, who was reelected this month to a record-breaking fifth term, raised eyebrows when he announced a coalition with a far-right party that has denigrated Palestinians and is the successor to a group that advocated for the “transfer” of Arabs from Israel to the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Netanyahu himself has also sparked criticism over repeated efforts to boost voter turnout for his own party by saying that Arab citizens are voting.

Delaney's criticism of Sanders marks one of the first individual attacks among Democratic presidential contenders so far in the 2020 cycle. The former Maryland lawmaker has, thus far, barely registered in national or statewide polls, while Sanders is out-fundraising and out-polling all of his declared opponents.