Florida's junior Senator is standing up for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the wake of the Senate Democratic Leader saying it's time for the veteran Likud leader to leave office as war rages with Hamas.
U.S. Sen. Rick Scott said U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York "is calling for the U.S. to meddle in the Israeli government to force leadership change. This is coercion. It's dangerous (and) undemocratic. America must stand strongly with Israel's elected leadership, not threaten it as it fights terrorism that wants to destroy it."
Scott's comments come after Schumer put pressure on Netanyahu on the Senate floor, as transcribed by a Punchbowl News reporter.
Schumer described Netanyahu as an "obstacle to peace" who is pursuing "dangerous and inflammatory policies that test existing U.S. standards for assistance."
"The Netanyahu coalition no longer fits the needs of Israel. ... The Israeli people are being stifled right now by a governing vision that is stuck in the past," Schumer said.
The Democratic Leader believes the U.S. should "play a more active role in shaping Israeli policy by using our leverage to change the present course."
The Senate dialogue comes after a President Joe Biden comment before the State of the Union speech last week.
Biden said he wanted to have a "Come to Jesus" meeting with the elected leader of the Jewish state regarding tactics and strategy in the war that has raged for five months following the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks on Israel, which happened despite the country's legendary dedication to national security.
The phrasing allegedly confounded Netanyahu.
"I don't know. I'm not familiar with the term even though Jesus wasn't born that far away from here," he told Fox News interviewers.
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