Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman mocked a pro-Palestinian protestor during a campaign event.
While Fetterman spoke to a crowd in support of former Pennsylvania State Rep. Sara Innamorato's bid for County Executive, one man shouted at the Pennsylvania senator to leave the stage.
"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."
The protestor was later removed from the event by authorities.
Fetterman has taken a starkly different approach in support of Israel compared to other progressive Democratic lawmakers in the wake of the attack on the Jewish state by Islamic militant group Hamas which killed over 1,400 Israelis last month.
“Innocent Israelis were the victims of a terrorist attack that resulted in the largest loss of Jewish lives since the Holocaust,” the Pennsylvania senator wrote on Oct. 18.
“If not for the horrific attacks by Hamas terrorists, thousands of innocent Israelis and Palestinians would still be alive today,” he continued. “Now is not the time to talk about a ceasefire. We must support Israel in efforts to eliminate the Hamas terrorists who slaughtered innocent men, women, and children.”
“Hamas does not want peace, they want to destroy Israel. We can talk about a ceasefire after Hamas is neutralized,” he concluded.
In another post, Fetterman criticized fellow lawmakers critical of the Jewish state after a report emerged which claimed Israel bombed a hospital in the Gaza Strip killing over 500. The report was later proved false as the bomb detonated in the hospital parking lot and did not damage the building itself. The bomb also appeared to have been launched by Hamas.
“It’s truly disturbing that Members of Congress rushed to blame Israel for the hospital tragedy in Gaza,” Fetterman wrote. “Who would take the word of a group that just massacred innocent Israeli civilians over our key ally?”
“I will always stand with Israel and look forward to supporting any military, intelligence, or humanitarian aid to get the job done,” he added.
On Saturday, Fetterman also took aim at Democratic California Governor Gavin Newsom.
During a stop at an Iowa event, Fetterman suggested Newsom was running for higher office despite throwing support behind the incumbent Democratic president.
“There are two additional Democrats running for … president right now,” Fetterman said, according to NBC News. “One is a congressman from Minnesota, the other one is the governor of California, but only one has the guts to announce it.”
