Rashida Tlaib Refuses to Condemn ‘Death to America’ Chants at Rally in District

Representative Rashida Tlaib (D., Mich.) on Thursday refused to condemn “death to America” chants that featured prominently at a rally in the district she represents.

Last week, at an anti-Israel demonstration in Dearborn, Michigan, local activist Tarek Bazzi led a crowd in chants of “death to America” and “death to Israel,” saying the Jewish state “does not deserve to exist” and celebrating former Iranian ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

Fox Business reporter Hillary Vaughn approached Tlaib in the halls of the United States Capitol Complex and asked whether the Michigan congresswoman would condemn the chants. Rather than answer Vaughn’s question, Tlaib said she would not talk to Fox News, telling Vaughn that she does not “talk to people that use racist tropes.” When Vaughn continued to press Tlaib, the progressive Democrat continued to accuse Fox of racism.

“I’m talking about your guys’s racist tropes,” she said. “You know, you guys are — you know exactly what you do. And I know you’re Islamophobic, but you guys gotta go deal with it on your own selves. You’re not going to use me.”

Tlaib has been a vocal critic of Israel both before and after October 7, often resorting to misleading claims to smear the Jewish state.

Immediately after the Hamas attack, Tlaib blamed Israel for the massacres, writing in a statement that “as long as our country provides billions in unconditional funding to support the apartheid government, this heartbreaking cycle of violence will continue.” She falsely accused Israel of striking al-Ahli hospital in Gaza and refused to back down once the explosion was confirmed to have been caused by a misfired Palestinian rocket. Tlaib repeated that lie to a crowd of over 500 protesters who later entered and illegally occupied a House office building. She posted a video on X calling for a free Palestine “from the river to the sea” — a slogan advocating the elimination of Israel — and accused President Joe Biden of “support[ing] the genocide of the Palestinian people.”

Even before October 7, Tlaib accused opponents of the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement of forgetting “what country they represent,” said she experiences “a calming feeling” when thinking about the Holocaust because of a supposed history in which it prompted Palestinians to give their land to Jews, and said of both her home state and the Gaza Strip that “if you open the curtain and look behind the curtain, it’s the same people that make money — and yes they do — off of racism, off of these broken policies. There is someone there making money.”

As National Review previously reported, Tlaib has fundraising ties to at least three Hamas-linked activists, including one who served time in prison for his connection to the terrorist organization. During her first congressional run in 2018, three individuals who hosted fundraisers for her campaign had either led or funded U.S.-based Hamas front groups including the Islamic Association for Palestine, the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development, and the American Muslim Society. All three organizations have in their history been found liable for financing terrorism.