Hide Transcript Show Transcript

>> PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE BERNIE SANDERS IS WEIGHING IN ON THAT CONTROVERSY, JUST AHEAD OF HIS FIRST 2020 CAMPAIGN VISIT TO NEW HAMPSHIRE. SANDERS, WHO IS JEWISH, SAYS HE DOES NOT CONSIDER REPRESENTATIVE OMAR’S REMARKS ANTI-SEMITIC. >> AS I SEE IT SHE HAS BEEN CRITICAL OF THE ISRAELI GOVERNMENT AND I THINK THAT THAT IS A FAIR CRITICISM. I HAVE BEEN VERY CRITICAL OF THE ISRAELI GOVERNMENT IN TERMS OF THEIR

Advertisement Sanders calls Omar’s comment ‘fair criticism’ of Israeli government, not anti-Semitism Presidential candidate, in interview, also addresses possible Trump impeachment, campaigning in NH Share Shares Copy Link Copy

As Bernie Sanders prepared to make his first visit to New Hampshire since announcing his presidential candidacy last month, the Vermont senator told WMUR on Thursday he does not consider controversial comments by U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota to be anti-Semitic.Sanders, an independent, said Democrat Omar’s comment was “fair criticism” of the conservative government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Omar, who is Muslim, was criticized by some Democrats and many Republicans last week when she said that pro-Israel lawmakers are under “a political influence in this country that says it is OK for people to push for allegiance to a foreign country.” This came after she apologized for a tweet last month that charged support for Israel in Washington “is all about the Benjamins.”The House passed a resolution late Thursday condemning "anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, racism and other forms of bigotry," but not mentioning Omar. The vote in favor was 407-23.“Criticism of the Israeli government itself is not anti-Semitism, and we have to make that separation quite clear,” Sanders said in an interview. “So, anti-Semitism, absolutely, unacceptable and must be fought at every level. Criticism of the Israeli government and their policies is not, per se, anti-Semitism.“As I see it, she has been critical of the Israeli government, and I think that that is a fair criticism,” Sanders said. “And I have been very critical of the Israeli government in terms of their treatment of Palestinians.”Sanders, who will hold rallies in Keene and Concord on Sunday, said, “As a nation, I am very worried about the increase in hate crimes. I’m worried about racism. I’m worried about anti-Semitism. We all remember the horrible mass shooting in a Pittsburgh synagogue.“I’m worried about anti-Muslim activity, anti-gay activity. Frankly, this is something that we have got to address.” “Anti-Semitism is a horrific ideology and has to be combated,” Sanders said. “But what has to be distinguished is that if you are critical of, say, the Netanyahu government in Israel, which to my mind is a very right-wing government – I strongly disagree with Netanyahu.“I have been very critical of the Israeli government in terms of their treatment of Palestinians.”Sanders won the New Hampshire first-in-the-nation primary in a 60 percent-to-38 percent landslide over Hillary Clinton in 2016. He announced his second run for president Feb. 19 and his Sunday visit will follow a trip to first-caucus state Iowa.In New Hampshire, Sanders will hold rallies at the Grappone Conference Center in Concord at 12 p.m. and the Colonial Theatre in Keene at 3:30 p.m. Both events are free and open to the public, but entrance will be provided on a first-come, first-served basis, his campaign said.Given Sanders’ lopsided win in New Hampshire three years ago and the fact that he represents, and is a resident of neighboring Vermont, he enters the current Democratic race as the perceived front-runner in the Granite State, if not for the nomination.But Sanders, as he did in February, stopped short of saying that the New Hampshire primary is a “must win” contest for him.“Clearly, New Hampshire is an enormously important state. Everybody understands that, and I want to thank the people of New Hampshire, who gave us a very, very strong victory in 2016,” he said. “And I think we still have a lot of support in New Hampshire. We’re going to work very hard in New Hampshire.”“When we brought ideas into New Hampshire, like raising the minimum wage to $15-an-hour, making sure that health care is a right and not just a privilege, and talking about climate change, and criminal justice reform – three years ago, those ideas seemed to be very, very radical ideas,” said Sanders, a self-described democratic socialist.“But because of the victory that New Hampshire gave us and 21 other states, ideas that a few years ago were seemingly radical and extreme are now part of mainstream America and are supported by the majority of the American people.”“New Hampshire remains very, very important, and we’re going to campaign hard in the state,” he said.While Sanders is known for holding large – sometimes huge – rallies, he said that in 2016, he appeared at “dozens and dozens” of town hall meetings in New Hampshire, “and some of them were pretty small.”“In a rural state like New Hampshire, Vermont or Iowa, it is important to touch people at the local level to talk about their issues. We have done that in the past and I think we’re going to do it again,” Sanders said.He reiterated his often-stated view that “we have the most dangerous president in the modern history of the country and the White House. It is imperative that we defeat him. It is imperative that we develop an agenda that speaks for the needs of the working class and the middle class and not just the 1 percent.”Sanders declined to prejudge whether President Donald Trump should be impeached and removed from office. He noted that if the House impeaches the president – and Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Michigan said she will file an impeachment resolution before the end of this month -- a trial will be held by the Senate on whether he should be removed.“I will be one of 100 people who judge, so it would be totally inappropriate for me to be commenting on whether or not I believe there was grounds for impeachment because I’m going to have to be as objective as I can,” Sanders said.“I don’t like Trump. That’s no great secret. But as a member of the United States Senate, I would be acting as a judge and would have to hear all of the evidence before I make a decision.”Sanders noted that the House Committee on Education and Labor this week advanced to the House floor legislation to raise the federal minimum wage from the current level of $7.25-an-hour to $15.“I am very proud of what they have done,” he said. “There is an excellent chance that raising the minimum wage in this country to a living wage will pass the U.S. House. We’re going to have a fight on our hands here in the Senate because the Republican leadership apparently thinks that $7.25-an-hour federal minimum wage is enough for workers. I don’t.”Sanders has taken criticism from some Democrats for rejecting the nomination of the Democratic Party in his home state in his runs for the Senate. But he has defended his Democratic bona fides and this week signed a Democratic National Committee loyalty pledge promising that he will run as a Democrat and, if he wins, serve as a Democrat.New Hampshire legislators are in the process of passing legislation to ease the state’s requirement that a presidential candidate must be a registered voter of the party in which he or she seeks the presidential nomination.