{"id":29725,"date":"2026-08-06T10:48:24","date_gmt":"2026-08-06T05:48:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=29725"},"modified":"2026-08-06T10:48:24","modified_gmt":"2026-08-06T05:48:24","slug":"jon-stewart-tells-john-fetterman-he-doesnt-know-why-he-wont-criticize-israel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=29725","title":{"rendered":"Jon Stewart tells John Fetterman he doesn\u2019t know why he won\u2019t criticize Israel"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div xmlns:default=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" id=\"article-body\">\n<div class=\"flex border-b border-solid items-center justify-between mb-6 pb-5 border-b-neutral-light-charcoal-gray\">\n<div class=\"relative flex items-center gap-2 self-stretch \"><button class=\"audio-paywall-trigger bg-transparent flex gap-2 items-center cursor-pointer\" aria-label=\"play button\"><span class=\"font-grot10 text-3.5 font-semibold not-italic leading-4 text-primary\">Listen to article<!-- --> <span aria-hidden=\"true\">\u2022<\/span>\u00a0<time>0:00<!-- --> min<\/time><\/span><\/button><button type=\"button\" aria-label=\"Feedback\" class=\"bg-transparent cursor-pointer flex\" aria-expanded=\"false\"\/><audio><track kind=\"captions\" class=\"hidden\"\/><\/audio><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"inq-p text-primary  \">U.S. Sen. <a class=\"relative z-1 text-blue-mid hover:shadow-lightmode\" data-link-type=\"article-body\" href=\"https:\/\/www.inquirer.com\/topic\/john-fetterman\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"\" title=\"https:\/\/www.inquirer.com\/topic\/john-fetterman\">John Fetterman<\/a>, in perhaps the most in-depth and toughest interview he has faced in recent memory, defended his unwavering support for Israel and his harsh criticisms of fellow <a class=\"relative z-1 text-blue-mid hover:shadow-lightmode\" data-link-type=\"article-body\" href=\"https:\/\/www.inquirer.com\/topic\/democratic-party\">Democrats<\/a> when pressed by Jon Stewart in a <a class=\"relative z-1 text-blue-mid hover:shadow-lightmode\" data-link-type=\"article-body\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/weeklyshowpod\/status\/2084746768810652044?s=20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"\" title=\"https:\/\/x.com\/weeklyshowpod\/status\/2084746768810652044?s=20\">podcast episode<\/a> released Wednesday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"inq-p text-primary  \">The liberal comedian and political commentator repeatedly accused Fetterman (D., Pa.) of \u201ccaricaturing\u201d the left wing of his party and the debate around Israel\u2019s handling of the war in Gaza.<\/p>\n<p class=\"inq-p text-primary  \">\u201cJewish community and Israel are not the same thing, brother man. They\u2019re not \u2014 that is not the same thing,\u201d Stewart, who is Jewish, said at one point as Fetterman described his <a class=\"relative z-1 text-blue-mid hover:shadow-lightmode\" data-link-type=\"article-body\" href=\"https:\/\/www.inquirer.com\/politics\/israel-aid-amendment-representatives-vote-20260716.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"\" title=\"https:\/\/www.inquirer.com\/politics\/israel-aid-amendment-representatives-vote-20260716.html\">full-throated support for the war<\/a> as being because of \u201cthe Jewish community.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"inq-p text-primary  \">Asked repeatedly about the United States\u2019 moral obligations about backing the Israeli strikes that have led to the deaths of tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians, Fetterman stood firm. <\/p>\n<p class=\"inq-p text-primary  \">He said \u2014 as he often has since the Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas that sparked the conflict \u2014 that it was necessary to go after Hamas leaders. The killing of civilians was \u201cterrible\u201d and \u201ccollateral\u201d damage but not a genocide, Fetterman said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"inq-p text-primary  \">Stewart continued to press \u2014 questioning why Fetterman was standing so firmly behind a foreign ally that was \u201cdehumanizing\u201d and slowly killing another population. <\/p>\n<p class=\"inq-p text-primary  \">\u201cI don\u2019t understand how you have no criticisms over their actions, over their increasingly messianic, ultra-right-wing government that seems to think relentless war is, like, that you can bomb people out of resistance,\u201d Stewart said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"inq-p text-primary  \">The roughly 75-minute interview, on <a class=\"relative z-1 text-blue-mid hover:shadow-lightmode\" data-link-type=\"article-body\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@WeeklyShowPodcast\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"\" title=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@WeeklyShowPodcast\"><i>The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart<\/i><\/a>, came a week after Fetterman once again <a class=\"relative z-1 text-blue-mid hover:shadow-lightmode\" data-link-type=\"article-body\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.il\/en\/pages\/event-senator-peterman300726\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"\" title=\"https:\/\/www.gov.il\/en\/pages\/event-senator-peterman300726\">met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu<\/a> in Washington. <\/p>\n<p class=\"inq-p text-primary  \">Many other elected Democrats have distanced themselves from the Israeli government and criticized its tactics. Fetterman has acknowledged his position has hurt him politically. In the interview with Stewart, he echoed previous comments \u2014 which have also become <a class=\"relative z-1 text-blue-mid hover:shadow-lightmode\" data-link-type=\"article-body\" href=\"https:\/\/www.inquirer.com\/politics\/pennsylvania\/john-fetterman-republican-approval-dave-mccormick-pennsylvania-poll-20260715.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"\" title=\"https:\/\/www.inquirer.com\/politics\/pennsylvania\/john-fetterman-republican-approval-dave-mccormick-pennsylvania-poll-20260715.html\">evident in public polls<\/a> \u2014 that he has lost the support of his former Democratic base as his and his party\u2019s stances diverged.<\/p>\n<p class=\"inq-p text-primary  \">\u201cI\u2019m aware that if I happen to disagree with the party line, there\u2019s a price to pay,\u201d Fetterman said. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of stories of how I\u2019ve become increasingly more unpopular with Democrats in my state. And I\u2019m aware of it. But these were all very specific choices. \u2026 I would rather have people know what I happen to believe.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"inq-p text-primary  \">Stewart asked Fetterman several times about how he has voiced those disagreements. <\/p>\n<p class=\"inq-p text-primary  \">He said the senator has focused far more on arguing with his own party in a way that has further hurt its brand. And he has <a class=\"relative z-1 text-blue-mid hover:shadow-lightmode\" data-link-type=\"article-body\" href=\"https:\/\/www.inquirer.com\/politics\/pennsylvania\/john-fetterman-pennsylvania-democratic-party-criticism-20260325.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"\" title=\"https:\/\/www.inquirer.com\/politics\/pennsylvania\/john-fetterman-pennsylvania-democratic-party-criticism-20260325.html\">broken from the party\u2019s ranks<\/a> as Democrats try to use <a class=\"relative z-1 text-blue-mid hover:shadow-lightmode\" data-link-type=\"article-body\" href=\"https:\/\/www.inquirer.com\/politics\/pennsylvania\/john-fetterman-government-shutdown-dhs-funding-pennsylvania-democrats-20260127.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"\" title=\"https:\/\/www.inquirer.com\/politics\/pennsylvania\/john-fetterman-government-shutdown-dhs-funding-pennsylvania-democrats-20260127.html\">even an inkling of leverage<\/a> that could impact <a class=\"relative z-1 text-blue-mid hover:shadow-lightmode\" data-link-type=\"article-body\" href=\"https:\/\/www.inquirer.com\/topic\/republican-party\">Republicans<\/a>\u2019 agenda as the GOP controls both Congress and the White House, Stewart said. He pointed to issues like immigration enforcement reforms, which Democrats tried to enact by holding out support for a spending bill earlier this year. Fetterman said he supported the reforms but <a class=\"relative z-1 text-blue-mid hover:shadow-lightmode\" data-link-type=\"article-body\" href=\"https:\/\/www.inquirer.com\/politics\/nation\/fetterman-senate-vote-government-shutdown-20260129.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"\" title=\"https:\/\/www.inquirer.com\/politics\/nation\/fetterman-senate-vote-government-shutdown-20260129.html\">would not go along with letting part of the government shut down<\/a> as a strategic move.<\/p>\n<p class=\"inq-p text-primary  \">Stewart also pressed Fetterman on how his approach to President <a class=\"relative z-1 text-blue-mid hover:shadow-lightmode\" data-link-type=\"article-body\" href=\"https:\/\/www.inquirer.com\/topic\/donald-trump\">Donald Trump<\/a> has softened as he has ramped up his criticism of his own party. <\/p>\n<p class=\"inq-p text-primary  \">\u201cYou called President Donald Trump a jagoff in 2016,\u201d Stewart said, prompting Fetterman to say that he put the phrase on shirts and sold them.<\/p>\n<p class=\"inq-p text-primary  \">\u201cYou put it on a shirt. And now you\u2019ve been <a class=\"relative z-1 text-blue-mid hover:shadow-lightmode\" data-link-type=\"article-body\" href=\"https:\/\/www.inquirer.com\/politics\/pennsylvania\/john-fetterman-dave-mccormick-trump-savings-accounts-20260629.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"\" title=\"https:\/\/www.inquirer.com\/politics\/pennsylvania\/john-fetterman-dave-mccormick-trump-savings-accounts-20260629.html\">very complimentary<\/a> to him. And if your concern with Graham Platner is you didn\u2019t think he was very nice to women, you\u2019re ignoring an awful lot of evidence for the current president about his relationship with women,\u201d Stewart said, referencing Fetterman\u2019s <a class=\"relative z-1 text-blue-mid hover:shadow-lightmode\" data-link-type=\"article-body\" href=\"https:\/\/www.inquirer.com\/politics\/pennsylvania\/john-fetterman-fox-news-graham-platner-laura-ingraham-20260613.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"\" title=\"https:\/\/www.inquirer.com\/politics\/pennsylvania\/john-fetterman-fox-news-graham-platner-laura-ingraham-20260613.html\">attacks on the Maine Democrat<\/a> who <a class=\"relative z-1 text-blue-mid hover:shadow-lightmode\" data-link-type=\"article-body\" href=\"https:\/\/www.inquirer.com\/politics\/election\/graham-platner-scandal-fight-agency-20260710.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"\" title=\"https:\/\/www.inquirer.com\/politics\/election\/graham-platner-scandal-fight-agency-20260710.html\">dropped out<\/a> after facing allegations of sexual assault. \u201cSo my point is, there seems like there\u2019s a way to go about this that embraces, as you said, the 90% of things that you agree with, and try and utilize that energy to reform a party that has a worse public image than herpes in terms of getting things done. This feels like it\u2019s playing into the hands of Republican caricatures.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"inq-p text-primary  \">Fetterman pushed back, saying he was trying to stop \u201cextreme\u201d elements of his party in a way that would lead to better success in battleground elections \u2014 like in Pennsylvania \u2014 after Democratic losses in 2024. <\/p>\n<p class=\"inq-p text-primary  \">\u201cWe keep losing, and now we keep returning back to some of the extreme things,\u201d Fetterman said. \u201cThat\u2019s not a caricature. That is a fair assessment of where we are with these kind of things.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"inq-p text-primary  \">Stewart, noting that Vice President <a class=\"relative z-1 text-blue-mid hover:shadow-lightmode\" data-link-type=\"article-body\" href=\"https:\/\/www.inquirer.com\/topic\/kamala-harris\">Kamala Harris<\/a> was not the most progressive Democratic option in 2024, rejected the idea that the party lost because of far-left views. In an extended conversation about capitalism and socialism, he also encouraged Fetterman to embrace new ideas presented by democratic socialist candidates who Fetterman, like many Republicans, refers to as communists.<\/p>\n<p class=\"inq-p text-primary  \">Fetterman, who frequently appears on Fox News but has not appeared on more liberal programs like Stewart\u2019s <i>Daily Show<\/i>, described himself as a longtime fan of Stewart and said he believed the interview was \u201cvery fair.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"inq-p text-primary  \">At the end of the podcast, after Fetterman left, Stewart said he \u201cwasn\u2019t sure what to think\u201d and was \u201cweirdly thrown off right now.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"inq-p text-primary  \">\u201cI feel like we all just got out of one of those movies. Do you know those movies where it\u2019s like \u2026 there was a weirdly traumatizing scene in the movie,\u201d Stewart said. \u201cAnd now we\u2019re all just, like, \u2018Do you guys, um, do you want to go get something? I guess I\u2019m just going to go get a slice and maybe go home.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Listen to article \u2022\u00a00:00 min U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, in perhaps the most in-depth and toughest interview he has faced in recent memory, defended his unwavering support for Israel and his harsh criticisms of fellow Democrats when pressed by Jon Stewart in a podcast episode released Wednesday. The liberal comedian and political commentator repeatedly accused&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":29726,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.inquirer.com\/resizer\/v2\/EDGSTMUC4DDO25TTC5JNRLQUKY.jpg?auth=b9108f68b7c16424adb0b83c07a744dbe03ef738f5e155d41eae7d7fe8711a8c&width=760&height=507&smart=true","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29725","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-real-trending-viral-news"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29725","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=29725"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29725\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/29726"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=29725"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=29725"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=29725"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}