The Dave McCormick for U.S. Senate campaign released a Friday statement castigating U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) for his failure to condemn the antisemitic encampment at the University of Pennsylvania, deriding the Democrat for engaging a children’s television character on social media rather than condemn the anti-Israel protests.
McCormick’s campaign explained their challenge to Casey (pictured above) in response to “Casey’s continued silence on the antisemitic encampments rocking college campuses across Pennsylvania and the country.”
Elizabeth Gregory, the communications director for McCormick, then slammed Casey in a statement.
“Bob Casey has plenty of time to tweet at Cookie Monster but can’t seem to find a moment to condemn the antisemitic encampments cropping up at campuses around the country, including at the University of Pennsylvania, where administrators have refused to follow their own guidelines and disband them,” stated the McCormick campaign official.
She continued, “Jewish students are afraid for their safety and yet Casey is nowhere to be found. This is the lack of leadership and moral clarity Pennsylvanians have come to expect from their senior Senator. The only way to combat antisemitism is to loudly condemn it, and the only person in this race Pennsylvanians can count on to do so is Dave McCormick.”
McCormick’s campaign released the statement after Casey was mocked following his decision to reply to the Sesame Street character Cookie Monster on the social media platform X.
“Me hate shrinkflation! Me cookies are getting smaller,” declared the Cookie Monster account on X.
In reply, Casey asked Cookie Monster for a political donation, “to hold big corporations accountable for using shrinkflation to rake in record profits.” The Cookie Monster account later reportedly hid the U.S. Senator’s reply from public view.
Cookie Monster, I'm on it.
I need your help to hold big corporations accountable for using shrinkflation to rake in record profits.
Can you chip in $3 to help fight back? https://t.co/V9Ra29ZTCl
— Bob Casey Jr. (@Bob_Casey) March 4, 2024
The remarks from McCormick’s campaign come days after the Republican told The Pennsylvania Daily Star he would urge colleagues in the U.S. Senate to “revisit” federal funding, tax breaks and other support for colleges and universities that allowed anti-Israel encampments if elected in November.
“If these are going to be places that can’t stand up to bigotry, can’t ensure enforcement of the law and the rules, and ensure that all the students, including Jewish students, are able to have an opportunity to learn without being intimidated or subject to violence,” said McCormick, “then they shouldn’t get federal support.”
He then confirmed, “As a senator, that’s something I’d actively be focused on.”
McCormick similarly said campus antisemitism represents a test for university administrators and elected officials, lamenting that both Casey and Penn are failing to rise to the challenge.
“This is a test. Sadly, many of our leaders across our country, including my opponent Bob Casey, are failing,” said McCormick.
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Georgia Star News, The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Senator Bob Casey” by Sen. Bob Casey.
