Republican Senator Bernie Moreno of Ohio accused Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) of spreading the “propaganda of Hamas,” after the self-described “democratic socialist” claimed Israel was guilty of ethnic cleansing and using starvation as a weapon of war.
In a heated Senate floor exchange on Thursday, Vermont’s socialist Senator Bernie Sanders delivered a prepared speech accusing Israel’s government of war crimes in Gaza and blaming the United States for enabling them. He also accused President Donald Trump of “actively encouraging the ethnic cleansing of over two million people.”
It is outrageous that some members of the United States Senate parrot Hamas propaganda, refuse to acknowledge Hamas is holding an American, and blame our ally Israel for defending herself.
— Bernie Moreno (@berniemoreno) May 8, 2025
Israel is our greatest ally and Hamas started the war and can end it - period. pic.twitter.com/82NbfolacA
In response, Moreno — who has served just over 100 days in the Senate — rose to rebuke Sanders’ remarks.
“What you just heard… could be summarized as the absolute propaganda of Hamas,” he said, adding, “It’s a disgrace, and we should not ever forget that Israel is fighting the war that we would otherwise fight.”
“Hamas is the enemy,” he noted, “not our greatest ally — which is Israel.”
Moreno also dismissed Sanders’ framing as one-sided and dangerously misleading. Recalling the Hamas terror attack on October 7, 2023, he said, “They savagely murdered children, raped women, took hundreds of hostages, and killed more Jews than at any time since the Holocaust.”
“This war was started by Hamas,” he added. “It could end today by Hamas if they release every last hostage, including an American citizen.”
The exchange reflects a stark divide over the Israel-Hamas conflict, with Sanders and his allies painting Israel as the aggressor, while lawmakers like Moreno argue the Jewish state is under siege and defending both its people and shared American interests.
Joshua Klein is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at
