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White House turns on The Squad with blistering attack on Cori Bush's 'inflammatory' meltdown
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre tore into comments by Rep. Cori Bush Wednesday following the 'squad' member's angry tirade after her primary defeat.
'The President has always been very clear and very recently after the assassination attempt of the last president about lowering rhetoric – lowering the rhetoric and the importance of doing that,' Jean-Pierre told DailyMail.com hours after Bush became the second Democratic 'squad' member to be voted out of office.
'It is important that we be very mindful of what we say. This kind of rhetoric is inflammatory, and divisive and incredibly unhelpful,' she continued. 'And we're going to condemn any type of political rhetoric in that way, in that vein, and so it is important to be mindful in what we say and how we say it. But we cannot have this type of inflammatory and divisive language in our political discourse.'
Her condemnation at the daily press briefing of the Missouri lawmaker's comments came after Bush went on an angry tirade after losing to prosecutor Wesley Bell in her St. Louis district.
That made her the second Squad member to be taken down, following the defeat of New York Rep. Jamaal Bowman.
Bush blamed her defeat on pro-Israel group AIPAC after the powerful pro-Israel lobby spent heavily against her, pouring $9 million against her.
'AIPAC, I'm coming to tear your kingdom down,' Bush said in a comment she did not further explain.
'This kind of rhetoric is inflammatory, and divisive and incredibly unhelpful,' said White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, asked about an on-stage meltdown by Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.) following her primary defeat
Jean-Pierre's comments on turning down the temperature come as Vice President Kamala Harris is seeking new ways to try to take on Donald Trump, with supporters calling him 'weird' rather than a threat to democracy. At a Wisconsin campaign rally, Harris tried to divert supporters who were chanting 'lock him up,' saying the courts would handle that part.
Trump and running mate J.D. Vance have been trying to label Harris' running mate Gov. Tim Walz as a radical, with Republicans pointing to his remark that 'one person’s socialism is another person’s neighborliness.'
Biden and his team have made efforts to keep their distance from comments by 'squad members' and the defund-the-police movement, even while Trump has repeatedly sought to link them. As her victorious opponent pointed out, Bush voted against Biden's 2021 infrastructure bill.
During her remarks, Bush paced back and forth on the stage and spoke so loudly that the microphone shook. The former Black Lives Matter organizer condemned 'corporations' and AIPAC, charging them with orchestrating her ousting.
Bush told the crowd that now she is no longer bound to the decorum of Congress, and that now she had 'some of the strings [cut] off,' her opponents will 'see this other Cori, this other side.'
Squad member Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., lost her Democratic primary election to St. Louis-based prosecutor Wesley Bell. Addressing the crowd at her watch party following her defeat, she denounced pro-Israel group AIPAC for plotting against her and 'put all these corporations on notice' too
'Pulling me away from my position as congresswoman, all you did was take some of the strings off,' she proclaimed.
'Let's be clear, let's be clear, let's be clear,' Bush chants over and over again, 'let's talk about what it really is.'
Meanwhile, AIPAC on Wednesday morning celebrated Bush's loss.
'AIPAC and our 4.5 million grassroots members were proud to help progressive pro-Israel leader Wesley Bell defeat anti-Israel Squad member Rep. Cori Bush last night,' the group posted on X.
'Being pro-Israel is good policy and good politics!'
The Missouri Democrat told the approving audience that she now needs to be feared that her tenure in Congress is winding down.
'As much as I love my job, all they did was radicalize me, so now they need to be afraid,' she said Tuesday night. 'They about to see this other Cori, this other side.'
'And let me put all of these corporations on notice: I'm coming after you too. But I'm not coming by myself. I'm coming with all the people that's in here.'
'I don't fear you,' she said. 'I don't fear anything ... so if this happened it was meant to happen.'
The Associated Press projected Bush's loss three hours after polls closed, while she trailed by about five points.
Bush thanks her supporters following her Democratic primary loss to St. Louis Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell. Bush is the first African-American woman to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives from Missouri
The crowd adored the fiery antics displayed by Bush at her campaign party Tuesday, loudly cheering and applauding for her as she threatened AIPAC and defiantly warned corporations
Wesley Bell addresses the crowd after winning the Democratic congressional primary against incumbent U.S. Rep. Cori Bush on Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024 at the Marriott Grand Hotel in downtown St. Louis. Bush slammed Bell for his support from pro-Israel groups. AIPAC congratulated Bell on his victory Tuesday
'I am committed to serving the St. Louis region in Congress with integrity, transparency, and dedication,' Bell said in a statement after winning.
'Together, we will tackle the challenges ahead and build a community where everyone has the opportunity to thrive.'
Another quad member, Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., similarly lost his primary to a more moderate Democrat earlier this summer.
Bush had faced millions in outside money dumped into her race from pro-Israel groups who opposed her staunch pro-Palestinian stance.
'Wesley Bell's victory and Cori Bush's defeat underscore what we've seen in races across the country and throughout this election cycle — being pro-Israel is not just wise policy, but also smart politics,' said Mark Mellman, chairman of the Democratic Majority for Israel PAC, in a statement.
Similar to Bush's race against Bell, Bowman's race in New York hinged on a key issue: the Israel-Hamas war.
(L-R) US Representative Rashida Tlaib, Democrat of Michigan, and US Representative Cori Bush, Democrat of Missouri, hold signs reading 'Stop Sending Bombs' and 'Lasting Ceasefire Now' as US President Joe Biden delivers the State of the Union address in the House Chamber of the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on March 7, 2024
Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., and Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., accompanied by George Washington University students speaks during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol, Wednesday, May 8, 2024, in Washington, after police cleared a pro-Palestinian tent encampment at George Washington University early Wednesday and arrested demonstrators.
Bowman, a fellow member of the Squad (at least for now before he leaves Congress this winter), fiercely defended Palestinians and decried the Israeli's actions as 'genocide.'
His reward for repeatedly attacking the Jewish nation's wartime conduct: a pro-Israel SuperPAC coming after him.
AIPAC, a pro-Israel political group, spent massively against Bowman, pumping millions upon millions into the campaign of a local county executive.
With the support of the group, Westchester County Executive George Latimer, a moderate Democrat, sailed to an easy primary win, securing over 59 percent of the vote compared to Bowman's 40 percent.
In Bush's race, AIPAC's affiliated political arm spent $8.5 million dollars, the AP reported.
In Bowman's race the pro-Israel group spent nearly $15 million.
Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., another member of the Squad who faces a tight reelection race, will have her primary next Tuesday.