Republicans must be consistent in condemning antisemitism, but Democrats have failed to apply the same standard within their own party, former Rep. Pete King told Newsmax on Sunday.
"Anytime there's antisemitism, any bias within your party or your movement, it should be condemned," the New York Republican said on Newsmax's "Wake Up America Weekend."
Still, he said he does not think "we should lose sight of the fact that there's rampant antisemitism in the Democratic Party."
"It is important to stamp it out when you can, as soon as you can in your own ranks, but let's not lose sight of the really growing antisemitism, whether it's here in New York or with [Rep.] Ilhan Omar [D-Minn.]," King said. "The fact that Kamala Harris couldn't pick Josh Shapiro for vice president because he was Jewish, that, to me, is antisemitism anywhere."
His comments come after the storm of criticism aimed at Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts last week after he defended Tucker Carlson for his interview with avowed racist and antisemite Nick Fuentes.
In a video posted Thursday on X, Roberts praised Carlson as "a courageous truth-teller" and "a friend of Heritage," while dismissing the uproar over Carlson's decision to give Fuentes a platform.
On Sunday, King also criticized New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, calling him "anti-Israel, anti-American, and pro-Hamas."
He added that the assemblyman's ties to figures linked to the 1993 World Trade Center bombing show "everything that's wrong" with the far-left movement.
"He enabled the Hamas riots and demonstrations in New York," King said. "This man is wrong. He's evil. He must be stopped. He must be defeated at the polls on Tuesday."
Meanwhile, former Georgia Rep. Jack Kingston, also on Sunday's program, said antisemitism is far more prevalent among Democrats and the progressive left, while Republicans have remained steadfast in supporting Israel and Jewish communities.
"It's absolutely on the other side," Kingston said. "If we have these elections of socialists in Seattle, Minneapolis, and New York City this week, we're going to even see more of it."
He added that Omar and other "squad" members in Congress "frequently beat up on the Jewish vote and the Jewish people, and they hate [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu, which is a clever way of doing it."
He added that the GOP's position is to stand firmly with Israel and reject antisemitism wherever it appears.
"Standing firm with Israel, standing firm with Netanyahu, and standing firm absolutely against antisemitic rhetoric is very important to the Republican Party," Kingston said.
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