Embattled Missouri Democratic Rep. Cori Bush appeared reluctant to call Hamas a terrorist organization ahead of an expected close primary election, The New York Times reported.
Polls show that President Bush's chances of reelection are slimming and he faces a tough primary on Tuesday. A vocal critic of Israel and its military actions in Gaza, during a recent visit to Ferguson, Missouri, Bush said he did not want to call Hamas a terrorist organization. Classified The US government and most Western countries according to To the NYT.
“In Ferguson, they called us terrorists,” Bush reportedly said outside an early voting station in Ferguson just days before the primary, referring to the protests that erupted in the city after the police killing of Michael Brown in 2014. “Did they hurt people? Of course. Did the Israeli military hurt people? Of course.”
WASHINGTON, DC – JULY 9: Rep. Corey Bush (D-Missouri) takes questions from reporters as he leaves the House chamber following a vote at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC on July 9, 2024. (Photo by Anna Rose Layden/Getty Images)
Bush later reiterated his position while meeting with constituents at a restaurant in Ferguson, saying he hesitated to call Hamas terrorists because he knew so little about the issue.
“Do they qualify as a terrorist organization to me? Yes. But do I know that? I definitely don't,” Bush told The New York Times. “I have no contact with them. All I know is that we were considered terrorists, we were considered Black Identity Extremists, and we wanted peace. I'm not trying to compare us, but I've learned to be careful about labeling things when you don't know them.”
Bush's spokesman quickly walked back, telling The New York Times that the president “knows that Hamas is a terrorist organization,” adding that “the terrorist label has been consistently used by the far right to justify violence and, in this case, the collective punishment of Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip.”
Bush, a Democrat and progressive member of the Squad, has been outspoken in his criticism of Israel's military action against Hamas in Gaza and his views on the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He was one of two House members, the other being Michigan Democrat Rashida Tlaib, who voted against a resolution in January banning members of Hamas from entering the United States.
Mr. Bush appears headed for defeat in Tuesday's Missouri primary as his main opponent, County Attorney Wesley Bell, continues to gain support among voters. Mr. Bell is currently ranking several points higher than Mr. Bush in several polls conducted in June and July. according to Until 5:38.
Bush's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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