Progressive Squad member Cori Bush had an on-stage meltdown Tuesday after losing her reelection bid.
The progressive Democrat became the second Squad member to be taken down after a hotly-contested primary against a more moderate challenger who hammered Bush for supporting pro-Gaza protests.
Now, she is blaming her defeat on pro-Israel group AIPAC which put a whopping nearly $9 million to oust her, that she threatened to ‘tear down.’
Her unhinged remarks came during a primary election watch party in St. Louis, Missouri, where she took a stage in front of supporters.
Pacing back and forth on the stage and speaking so loudly that the microphone shook, the former Black Lives Matter organizer condemned ‘corporations’ and AIPAC, charging them with orchestrating her ousting.
Defiantly, Bush told the crowd that now she is no longer bound to the decorum of Congress, and that now she had ‘some of the strings [cut] off,’ her opponents will ‘see this other Cori, this other side.’
Squad member Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., lost her Democratic primary election to St. Louis-based prosecutor Wesley Bell. Addressing the crowd at her watch party following her defeat, she denounced pro-Israel group AIPAC for plotting against her and ‘put all these corporations on notice’ too
Then she screamed to loud applause an ominous warning: ‘AIPAC, I’m coming to tear your kingdom down.’
‘Pulling me away from my position as congresswoman, all you did was take some of the strings off,’ she proclaimed.
‘Let’s be clear, let’s be clear, let’s be clear,’ Bush chants over and over again, ‘let’s talk about what it really is.’
Meanwhile, AIPAC on Wednesday morning celebrated Bush’s loss.
‘AIPAC and our 4.5 million grassroots members were proud to help progressive pro-Israel leader Wesley Bell defeat anti-Israel Squad member Rep. Cori Bush last night,’ the group posted on X.
‘Being pro-Israel is good policy and good politics!’
The Missouri Democrat told the approving audience that she now needs to be feared that her tenure in Congress is winding down.
‘As much as I love my job, all they did was radicalize me, so now they need to be afraid,’ she said Tuesday night. ‘They about to see this other Cori, this other side.’
‘And let me put all of these corporations on notice: I’m coming after you too. But I’m not coming by myself. I’m coming with all the people that’s in here.’
‘I don’t fear you,’ she said. ‘I don’t fear anything … so if this happened it was meant to happen.’
The Associated Press projected Bush’s loss three hours after polls closed, while she trailed by about five points.
Bush thanks her supporters following her Democratic primary loss to St. Louis Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell. Bush is the first African-American woman to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives from Missouri
The crowd adored the fiery antics displayed by Bush at her campaign party Tuesday, loudly cheering and applauding for her as she threatened AIPAC and defiantly warned corporations
Wesley Bell addresses the crowd after winning the Democratic congressional primary against incumbent U.S. Rep. Cori Bush on Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024 at the Marriott Grand Hotel in downtown St. Louis. Bush slammed Bell for his support from pro-Israel groups. AIPAC congratulated Bell on his victory Tuesday
Bush’s remarks were so harsh it even earned her the scorn of the White House.
‘This kind of rhetoric is inflammatory and divisive and incredibly unhelpful … It is important to be mindful in what we say and how we say it,’ White House Press Scretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Wednesday.
Bell, meanwhile, celebrated his victory over the Squad member.
‘I am committed to serving the St. Louis region in Congress with integrity, transparency, and dedication,’ Bell said in a statement after winning.
‘Together, we will tackle the challenges ahead and build a community where everyone has the opportunity to thrive.’
Another quad member, Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., similarly lost his primary to a more moderate Democrat earlier this summer.
Bush had faced millions in outside money dumped into her race from pro-Israel groups who opposed her staunch pro-Palestinian stance.
‘Wesley Bell’s victory and Cori Bush’s defeat underscore what we’ve seen in races across the country and throughout this election cycle — being pro-Israel is not just wise policy, but also smart politics,’ said Mark Mellman, chairman of the Democratic Majority for Israel PAC, in a statement.
Similar to Bush’s race against Bell, Bowman’s race in New York hinged on a key issue: the Israel-Hamas war.
Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., and Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., accompanied by George Washington University students speaks during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol, Wednesday, May 8, 2024, in Washington, after police cleared a pro-Palestinian tent encampment at George Washington University early Wednesday and arrested demonstrators.
Bowman, a fellow member of the Squad (at least for now before he leaves Congress this winter), fiercely defended Palestinians and decried the Israeli’s actions as ‘genocide.’
His reward for repeatedly attacking the Jewish nation’s wartime conduct: a pro-Israel SuperPAC coming after him.
AIPAC, a pro-Israel political group, spent massively against Bowman, pumping millions upon millions into the campaign of a local county executive.
With the support of the group, Westchester County Executive George Latimer, a moderate Democrat, sailed to an easy primary win, securing over 59 percent of the vote compared to Bowman’s 40 percent.
In Bush’s race, AIPAC’s affiliated political arm spent $8.5 million dollars, the AP reported.
In Bowman’s race the pro-Israel group spent nearly $15 million.
Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., another member of the Squad who faces a tight reelection race, will have her primary next Tuesday.
