Former U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris criticized both the Biden and Trump administrations Wednesday, arguing that Washington failed to use American leverage to curb Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. She said the United States should have acted earlier and with greater force, as reported [1] by The New York Post.
“Most recently, the failure to use our leverage to curtail the Israeli government’s horrific conduct in the war in Gaza, both under the current administration, which offers [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu a blank check, and our administration before, where we should have acted sooner and more forcefully,” Harris said.
Harris delivered the remarks while speaking at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies in Seoul, South Korea. Her criticism covered the current administration and the Biden administration, in which she served as vice president.
The former vice president described the Israeli government’s conduct in Gaza as “horrific.” She also accused the current administration of giving Netanyahu “a blank check,” while faulting her own administration for failing to act sooner and more forcefully.
The comments placed Harris among the critics of Washington’s handling of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. Her statement specifically focused on what she described as a failure to use American leverage against the Israeli government.
Harris did not reserve her criticism for President Donald Trump’s administration. By invoking “our administration before,” she also directly faulted the Biden administration’s approach during her own tenure as vice president.
Ashamed to have worked for her.
— Warren Kinsella (@kinsellawarren) October 14, 2026 [3]
The Republican Jewish Coalition responded by calling Harris’s remarks “unsurprising.” The organization pointed to several previous episodes involving Harris and Israel, including her absence from Netanyahu’s 2024 address to Congress.
The group also cited Harris’s opposition to legislation targeting the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement. That movement was among the issues the Republican Jewish Coalition raised while criticizing her latest comments about Israel and Gaza.
The Republican Jewish Coalition further criticized Harris for calling for a halt to Israeli military operations in Rafah. The Israel Defense Forces later found and rescued hostages in Rafah, according to the source.
The organization also revisited a 2021 exchange involving Harris and a student. The student accused Israel of “ethnic genocide,” and the Republican Jewish Coalition criticized Harris for agreeing with the student.
The response was not limited to the Republican Jewish Coalition. Attorney and author Warren Kinsella, who worked on Harris’s 2024 presidential campaign, also condemned her remarks following the appearance in Seoul.
Kinsella wrote that he is “ashamed to have worked with her.” His statement directly connected his criticism to Harris’s remarks about Israel and the conduct of the war in Gaza.
Harris’s comments focused on the actions of both administrations rather than a single White House. She faulted the current administration for its treatment of Netanyahu while arguing that the Biden administration should have applied American leverage sooner.
Her remarks also drew renewed attention to the episodes highlighted by the Republican Jewish Coalition, including Netanyahu’s congressional address, legislation targeting the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement, the Rafah operations, and the 2021 student exchange.
The Seoul appearance therefore produced criticism from both a Republican Jewish organization and a former Harris campaign worker. Harris, meanwhile, used the event to argue that two successive administrations failed to act forcefully enough to restrain Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.