WASHINGTON — What’s in a name?
“Squad” Rep. Summer Lee (D-Pa.) mixed up two Jewish Democrats named “Josh” Tuesday while attempting to dunk on Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) after he warned about the rise of socialism in the party.
“What about Dems who sign bombs and vote to drop them?” Lee chided Gottheimer after the Garden Stater blasted the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) as “not Democrats” but “socialists, who want to hijack the Democratic Party” and declared “there’s no room for anti-American bomb-throwers who oppose our ideas, values, & leaders.”
After Gottheimer told Lee she was thinking of “the other Jewish guy named Josh,” a reference to Pennsylvania Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro autographing an artillery shell meant for Ukraine during a September 2024 visit to Scranton by Kyiv President Volodymyr Zelensky, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) tried to put in her two cents — only to wind up committing a viral social media faux pas.
“He signed the bombs you voted to be dropped. Hope this helps!” Omar interjected in her ill-fated attempt to back up her fellow left-winger.
That earned Omar a community note on X castigating her obsession with Israel, which she appeared to believe the discussion between Gottheimer and Lee was referencing.
Gottheimer then supplied a double whammy, posting a screenshot confirming that Omar had voted to approve $60.8 billion in aid for Ukraine in April 2024.
“Ilhan, you know who else voted for it? You,” Gottheimer posted in response to his Somali-born colleague.
Last week, 103 House Democrats voted to strip Israel of $3.3 billion in US aid, an amendment to the annual defense bill introduced by libertarian-leaning Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.)
Gottheimer, 51, has been in Congress since 2017 and is one of the most outspoken critics of the DSA. His post that triggered Lee and Omar cheered on progressive pundit Van Jones for publicly warning about the socialist left’s rise.
