Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., engaged in a contentious exchange with a reporter from Drop Site News, an outlet he characterized as anti-Israel, accusing it of supporting Hamas and Iran. The confrontation occurred Wednesday and was captured on video.
During the encounter, Fetterman, a vocal supporter of Israel among Senate Democrats, questioned the outlet's motives and funding. "I want your viewers to see how much I love to watch Israel eliminating the Hamas leadership," Fetterman told the reporter, Julian Andreone. "I know that upsets a lot of your viewers and a lot of your founders. But I think it's a great thing."
When Andreone stated that Drop Site News is funded by "46,000 individual donors," Fetterman directed his criticism toward the outlet's co-founder, Jeremy Scahill. "Your founders think it's appropriate to attack and kill Israeli civilians. That's really — that should be the news overall," Fetterman said. "Now you're sticking a microphone in my face… I think the question is why does Drop Site love Hamas and Iran and Hezbollah so much? I think that's the news."
Fetterman also made a pointed remark about the outlet's reporting on the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, referencing Scahill's prior comments. As the exchange concluded and elevator doors closed, Fetterman added, "I love killing Hamas leadership."
The senator also had a separate exchange with a reporter from Zeteo, another outlet he labeled as "pro-Hamas."