A pollster who worked for former President Bill Clinton said Tuesday that Democratic Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota’s reported ties to a Muslim cleric who was critical of Israel reinforced “serious doubts” Jewish voters had about Vice President Kamala Harris.
Walz, who is already under fire over allegations of “stolen valor” and his 2005 retirement from the Minnesota National Guard, praised Imam Asad Zaman as a “master teacher” while he was running for his first term as governor, according to video obtained by Washington Examiner reporter Gabe Kaminsky. Doug Schoen said Walz’s praise of Zaman, who previously promoted Adolf Hitler, “played into” Jewish voters’ fears. (RELATED: ‘Morning Joe’ Hosts Claim Republicans Trying To ‘Swift Boat’ Tim Walz)
“It’s being received very badly, Bill, in the Jewish community,” Schoen told Fox News host Bill Hemmer. “There are already serious doubts about Kamala Harris and her commitment to the state of Israel, her sympathy for the Palestinians over the state of Israel. This plays into those fears. Walz has received praise already from the Squad, from Ilhan Omar, and the doubts and the Jewish community, both what I hear and in our polling, will be reinforced by his ties to this imam whose views are antithetical to everything I think we stand for and that Jews believe in.”
WATCH:
Former Clinton Pollster Says Walz’s Ties To Hitler-Promoting Cleric Add To Jewish Voters’ ‘Serious Doubts’ About Dem Ticket pic.twitter.com/3yWo8gAtpu
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) August 13, 2024
The Democratic Party has been divided over support for Israel in the wake of the Oct. 7, 2023, attack by the radical Islamic terrorist group that killed over 1,200 people. Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan called on Democratic primary voters to support “uncommitted” slates of delegates in February due to President Joe Biden’s failure to secure a permanent cease-fire in Gaza following the attack, while Harris faced protesters at a Wednesday Michigan campaign event after she chose Walz as her running mate.
“To me they’re really not competing interests, because it is Hamas versus Israel. I think it is a tragedy what has happened in Gaza, but it’s because of what happened on October 7th, because Hamas is not committed to peace in the Middle East,” Schoen said. “In fact, it’s committed to the removal and evisceration of the state of Israel, and from where I sit, Bill, most Americans, and certainly Jewish Americans, find the views of the Palestinians, and particularly Hamas, abhorrent, and I think it is less an electoral calculation than what supports our democracy and what supports freedom and liberty in the world.”
Schoen said that the controversies over Walz’s military service and his ties to Zaman were a sign that Harris’ campaign did not properly vet her eventual running mate. (RELATED: ‘This Is A Shocking Pick’: Trump Says Harris-Walz Ticket Would Make America ‘Go Communist Immediately’)
“There wasn’t a complete vetting process, as there wasn’t with J.D. Vance, and I think we’ve seen the effect. I’m much more worried, frankly, about what Tim Walz, the nominee of my party, has said and done than J.D. Vance’s infelicitous comments about women who don’t happen to have children,” Schoen said.
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