John Fetterman calls out AOC's 'clueless' anti-Israel comments in Munich

21 Feb 2026 By foxnews

Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., appeared on "Jesse Watters Primetime" on Thursday, when he called out Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., over her comments at the Munich Security Conference over the weekend.

Watters asked Fetterman whether he saw Ocasio-Cortez's remarks.

"I saw some of it," Fetterman replied. "I think that the most troubling thing for her views is she is just, you know, anti-Israel. I mean, and those views and, you know, so clueless - to sit in Germany and accuse Israel of genocide while you're sitting in Germany - and how ignorant that is."

Fetterman continued, noting he didn't see "where she kind of had her flub," referencing the mockery Ocasio-Cortez faced over several statements she made about Taiwan, as well as for saying Venezuela was below the equator.

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Ocasio-Cortez did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.

While he didn't pile on the congresswoman for her meandering response to whether the United States would defend Taiwan from a Chinese invasion, Fetterman argued that her "specifically anti-Israel" comments at the conference represented a "serious rot" within a subset of the Democratic Party.

Ocasio-Cortez was criticized for alleging that U.S. aid to Israel enabled a genocide by the Jewish state during a town hall event at the conference.

The congresswoman's criticism of Israel's war to defeat Hamas in the Gaza Strip following the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks sparked outrage and intense backlash from military and Middle East experts.

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Ocasio-Cortez said, "To me, this isn't just about a presidential election. Personally, I think that the United States has an obligation to uphold its own laws, particularly the Leahy laws."

"And I think that - personally - that the idea of completely unconditional aid, no matter what one does, does not make sense," she said. "I think it enabled a genocide in Gaza. And I think that we have thousands of women and children dead that don't - that was completely avoidable."

"And, so, I believe that enforcement of our own laws through the Leahy laws - which requires conditioning aid in any circumstance when you see gross human rights violations - is appropriate."

The Leahy Laws prohibit the Department of Defense and the State Department from funding "foreign security force units when there is credible information that the unit has committed a 'gross violation of human rights.'" Former Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., introduced the bill in 1997.

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In the interview with Watters, Fetterman called for the Democratic Party to be a "big tent," encompassing a wide range of views and not shutting out members of their own party over minor disagreements on policy.

When asked whether he was a "fan" of California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Fetterman told Watters that he liked him on a personal level, although the two disagree on some issues.

"Yes, I mean I like him personally," the senator responded. "I don't agree with him with some of his, you know, views in certain things. California is a lot different than Pennsylvania, but you know, technically we are just Democrats, and now that's why, you know, the Democratic Party has to be a big tent thing and that's why we can disagree on some things."

Fox News Digital's Benjamin Weinthal contributed to this report.