Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) threatened to “throw” a far-left journalist off an Amtrak train on Monday after the lawmaker was asked about his resistance to calling for a ceasefire in the Israel-Israel war. and Hamas.
The Delaware Democrat was apparently riding in the quiet locomotive car when Grayzone reporter Aaron Mate, who was sitting across from Coons, apologized for putting him “on the spot” and demanded to know why the senator had not called for a “cessation.” ”. -fire in Gaza.”
“Who are you?” Coons, looking confused, asks the journalist, who filmed his interaction.
“This is a silent car and you’re not supposed to talk to me,” the senator tells Mate after identifying himself as a journalist.
Coons then appears to scan the aisle of the train car, looking for someone to help him out of the adverse interview.
“Children are dying. “American weapons are killing children in Gaza,” Mate insists.
“Who are you?” Coons asks again before responding: “Nice to meet you, Aaron. “Please stop talking to me.”
Coons appeared upset as he was questioned about Israel’s war against Hamas while traveling aboard an Amtrak train on Monday. Ron Sachs – CNP
“Please stop. Please stop. Aaron, you are bothering me and everyone around you,” the angry senator implores Mate, who persists in his line of questioning.
“Sir, can I get help here? It bothers me while I’m trying to work,” Coons complains to an Amtrak employee.
After more questions, Coons quickly explains his position on the conflict.
“I am not going to ask for a ceasefire. I strongly support humanitarian pauses. “I have urged the Israeli government to focus its campaign against Hamas,” Coons tells Mate.
Coons repeatedly asked the reporter to leave him alone.X / Aaron Maté
“Aaron, please stop or I’ll have you kicked off the train,” the senator tells Mate after continuing to question him about his resistance to the ceasefire.
“I’m a senator, this is a silent car. You are breaking the basic rules of how we operate at Amtrak, please stop,” Coons reiterates, before finally getting up and leaving his seat nearly 3 minutes after the exchange began.
Mate claimed in an X post after his encounter with Coons that he was “taken off the train” at the next stop.
“After questioning Senator Coons about his support for Israeli massacres in Gaza, I was asked to move to a different seat. I complied. About 30 minutes later, he walked past me. We did not exchange words. At the next stop, in Philadelphia, they took me off the train. I assume this was done at the behest of Senator Coons,” he wrote.
“I am not going to ask for a ceasefire. I strongly support humanitarian pauses. “I have urged the Israeli government to focus its campaign against Hamas,” Coons told Mate. fake images
Amtrak did not respond to The Post’s requests for comment.
Mate and Grayzone, an independent media outlet, have criticized Israel for years, even before the Jewish state’s declaration of war against Hamas following the terrorist group’s massacre of 1,200 people on October 7. Israel’s retaliatory airstrikes have killed more than 11,000 Palestinians in Gaza, according to the Hamas-controlled territory’s Ministry of Health.
The outlet has also published fringe theories claiming that Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad did not use chemical weapons during the Syrian Civil War and that the Chinese Communist Party is not oppressing the Uyghur community in Xinjiang province.
A spokesperson for the Delaware senator reiterated what Coons told Mate when asked for comment.
“As Senator Coons said this afternoon, he believes the entire world should unite in opposition to terrorism following the massacre of Israeli civilians by Hamas on October 7,” the spokesperson told The Post.
“While Senator Coons does not support a ceasefire, he has repeatedly made clear that he supports humanitarian pauses to allow the delivery of assistance to Gaza, including hospitals, and has urged the Israeli government to focus its campaign against Hamas. He has also repeatedly pressed for the quick release of hostages still being held by Hamas,” the spokesperson added.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn