A Democratic lawmaker said Tuesday he disagrees with Nancy Pelosi, the leader of his party in the House, over her strong critique of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to Congress.
“I disagree with the House Democratic Leader, whom I hold in high regard,” California Rep. Brad Sherman said in a statement after the speech. “Prime Minister Netanyahu’s speech was not condescending.”
Pelosi, who was visibly perturbed during Netanyahu’s speech, said Tuesday, “I was near tears throughout the Prime Minister’s speech – saddened by the insult to the intelligence of the United States as part of the P5 +1 nations, and saddened by the condescension toward our knowledge of the threat posed by Iran and our broader commitment to preventing nuclear proliferation.”
Sherman specifically took issue with Pelosi’s characterization that Netanyahu was patronizing.
“Every speech contains passages which remind the audience of facts they already know, and conclusions with which they already agree,” Sherman said. “That is not condescension; that is oratory. The Prime Minister’s speech did contain some new insight that Congress should carefully consider, though it did not contain a clear roadmap of to how to force Iran to accept a reasonable deal.”
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