Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman lamented young voters absorbing news from TikTok and said the social media platform was "warped" and "not reflective of reality.
Fetterman discussed the social media platform and the phenomenon of young voters coming out against President Joe Biden's pro-Israel stance amid their conflict in the Middle East in a Tuesday interview with CNN's Jake Tapper.
“Seventy-two percent of young voters, according to this new poll, disapprove of how President Biden is handling the Israel-Hamas war,” Tapper said. “You’ve been very vocal in your full support for Israel. I see the Israeli flag behind you in your office there. You’ve been very clearly arguing that Hamas bears responsibility for the tragedy of what’s going on in Gaza.”
Tapper asked why many Democratic voters, and specifically younger voters, are coming out in support of Palestinians.
“I really, I really don’t know. I do know that a lot of people are getting their perspective from TikTok,” Fetterman responded. “And I think if you’re kind of getting your perspective on the world on TikTok, it’s going to tend to be kind of warped or not reflective of the history and actually the way things absolutely are.”
“And what is very clear is, is that Hamas started this and they actually broke the ceasefire and they attacked and murdered babies, children, women – attacked a music concert and everything,” he continued. “It’s outrageous. And from now on, it’s been very clear that Israel would very much want there to be peace. But they’ve made it very clear that after October 7, that’s just not possible so long as Hamas is allowed to exist.”
Fetterman has taken a staunchly contrasted stance on Israel compared to other progressive Democrats.
The Pennsylvania senator criticized colleagues proposing a ceasefire shortly after the Israeli and Palestinian military conflict kicked off in October.
“I will always stand with Israel and look forward to supporting any military, intelligence, or humanitarian aid to get the job done,” he said in an X post.
“We must support Israel in efforts to eliminate the Hamas terrorists who slaughtered innocent men, women, and children,” he wrote in a follow up post. “Hamas does not want peace, they want to destroy Israel. We can talk about a ceasefire after Hamas is neutralized.”
During an early November protest, Fetterman mocked a pro-Palestinian protestor.
“There’s 4,000-plus dead children in Palestine!” one protestor shouted during the event. “Nine-thousand dead civilians! Get off the stage!”
The protestor continued his demand for Fetterman to leave the stage, though the Pennsylvania senator shot back, “The joke is on you.”
“I had a stroke,” he said in reference to his 2022 stroke while on the campaign trail. “I can’t fully understand what you are saying.”
