Kamala Harris blames Biden for lenient Israel policy during Seoul speech

Former Vice President Kamala Harris, the 2024 Democratic presidential nominee, criticized the Biden administration for failing to pressure Israel to scale back its Gaza campaign while speaking at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies in Seoul on Oct. 14, 2026.

The remarks highlight growing impatience within the Democratic Party over U.S. support for Israel and signal that Harris may be positioning herself for a 2028 presidential bid.

Harris told the audience, "It is in our interest to hold our allies accountable for their share of global defense, to ensure trade benefits American workers and consumers, and to uphold our moral obligation to human rights and international law." She added that the United States has at times fallen short on that responsibility.

She singled out both the current and previous administrations, saying the Biden administration "offers Netanyahu a blank check" and that the prior administration "should have acted sooner and more forcefully" to curb what she described as Israel’s "horrific conduct" in Gaza.

During her 2024 campaign, Harris tried to balance sympathy for Palestinians with support for Israel’s right to self‑defense, a stance that sparked a protest movement among some Michigan Democrats who voted "uncommitted" in the primary. The controversy underscores a broader split within the party over aid to Israel.

The Republican Jewish Coalition called the comments unsurprising and criticized Harris for previously supporting a halt to Israeli operations in Rafah and for endorsing a student’s 2021 accusation that Israel was committing "ethnic genocide."

Harris’s Seoul speech could deepen pressure on the Biden administration to reevaluate its leverage over Israel and may shape the policy narrative of the Democratic primary field as the 2028 election cycle approaches.