Monday morning news: March 18, 2024

Netanyahu answers criticism » Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netayahu is firing back over remarks by U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer who suggested last week that Netanyahu was unfit to lead and called for new elections in Israel.

NETANYAHU: I think Schumer’s statements are wholly inappropriate. We’re not a banana republic. The people of Israel will choose when they’ll have elections, who to elect, and it’s not something that will be foisted upon us.

President Biden did not expressly endorse Schumer’s remarks, but he told reporters on Friday …

BIDEN: I’m not going to elaborate on his speech. He made a good speech, and I think he expressed a serious concern shared not only by him but by many Americans.

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell condemned Schumer’s remarks, calling it “grotesque and hypocritical” to interfere with the elections of a sovereign ally.

Netanyahu general defense, Rafah » Netanyahu also had a message for all of the critics of Israel’s war against Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip.

NETANYAHU (translated): To our friends in the international community I say: Is your memory so short? So quickly you forgot about October 7, the worst massacre committed against Jews since the Holocaust?

With thousands of civilians killed since the start of the war, many world leaders have urged Israel to call off a planned ground invasion in the city of Rafah.

But Netanyahu says the city is the last remaining Hamas stronghold in Gaza and terrorist forces cannot be allowed to survive and regroup.

Gaza relief » Meantime, the founder of the World Central Kitchen relief group, José Andrés says he’s hopeful that a new maritime corridor for relief supplies will help to ease the humanitarian crisis within Gaza.

ANDRES: I hope that we can build a bigger system to bring huge quantities of food daily into the shores of Gaza.

A ship delivered nearly 200 tons of food and water to Gaza on Friday.

Border / drones » The Pentagon says drone incursions at the U.S.-Mexico border have soared recently to an alarming degree with more than 1,000 drones crossing into U.S. airspace each month.

Cartels use drones to surveil the Border Patrol as they traffick both drugs and people across the border.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said Sunday:

PAXTON: Look, I’m not surprised that this is going on now — that they’re sending drones across is no surprise. And it’s no surprise that Joe Biden is not going to do anything about it.

President Biden claims House Republicans are to blame for the border crisis for rejecting a Senate border bill.

Trump campaign remarks » Former President Trump stirred up controversy in Ohio over the weekend. Rallying supporters in Dayton, he called for a 100 percent tariff on imported vehicles vowing to go to bat for U.S. auto workers. But he added …

TRUMP: If I don’t get elected, it’s gonna be a bloodbath for the whole — that’s gonna be the least of it. It’s gonna be a bloodbath for the country. That’ll be the least of it.

The Biden campaign quickly condemned those remarks, accusing him of calling for an uprising, should he lose in November. GOP Congressman Mike Turner of Ohio shot back saying Democrats are deliberately taking his remarks out of context.

TURNER: The president’s statements concerning bloodbath were about what would happen in the auto industry if actually the Chinese manufacturers who are coming into Mexico were permitted to import into the United States.

But Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy said he thinks it would be best for the former president to choose his words more carefully.

Pence won't endorse Trump » Meantime, former Vice President Mike Pence says it will likely come as no surprise that he is not endorsing Trump in this year’s election.

He said he’s very proud of the record of the Trump-Pence administration.

PENCE: But as I look at what Donald Trump is running on now, I simply cannot in good conscience endorse his candidacy this year.

Pence said he believes the former president has started shying away from a commitment to the sanctity of human life and from confronting the national debt.

But Pence also added, “I would never vote for Joe Biden.”

TikTok bill latest » On Capitol Hill the Senate is dragging its feet on a new TikTok bill, just passed by the House, even as the White House urges action on the measure.

The bill cruised through the House last week in a rare show of bipartisan harmony. It would force the Chinese owners of the social media app TikTok: Sell the platform or face a nationwide ban in the United States.

GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy:

CASSIDY: I’d like to see the final language, but I’m certainly predisposed to vote for it. Anyone that doesn’t think the Chinese Communist Party would like to influence what we think in our country just doesn’t understand what they do.

But the Senate is not nearly as lockstep on this matter as the House with some members expressing concern about possibly running afoul of First Amendment liberties.

Polls also suggest the move could be unpopular with voters. And that too could be a factor in an election year.

Haiti latest » The situation in Haiti continues to spiral out of control as violent gangs increasingly seize power from outgunned security forces and a government in disarray.

Resident of Haiti: [Speaking Creole]

One woman in the capital city of Port-Au-Prince said, Last night, gang members stormed into our home with heavy firearms. They looted and vandalized our home. She said they returned again later to assault them and steal more of their belongings.

In Washington, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul says he has serious concerns about a State Department request for relief funds.

MCCAUL: What they’re asking me to do is release $50 million dollars of cash and weapons to go into Haiti with no governance. And the worst thing we could do is arm the very warlords that are threatening the people of Haiti.

But the United States has committed $300 million dollars to a multinational Kenyan-led mission that would help restore order and pave the way for new elections in Haiti.

I’m Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: A fight over debit card fees on Legal Docket. Plus, the Monday Moneybeat.

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