Matt Duss, former foreign policy adviser to Senator Bernie Sanders, argues that Democrats need a foreign policy reckoning centered on Gaza. The conflict has become a defining issue in Democratic primaries across Michigan, New Jersey, and New York, splitting the party between traditional support and growing criticism of Israeli military actions.

Senator Chris Van Hollen warned that primary voters won't trust candidates who backed sending bombs to Netanyahu while Gaza faced blockade. Duss contends the Biden administration conducted a disinformation campaign, refusing to acknowledge violations that were obvious to international observers and human rights groups.

The former adviser pointed to stark inconsistencies: the administration quickly labeled Russian actions in Ukraine as war crimes, yet claimed inability to assess similar violations by Israel despite greater U.S. visibility into Israeli operations. This selective blindness, he argues, undermines Democratic credibility on moral leadership.

Several Democratic primaries now hinge on candidates' positions, with challengers like Brad Lander attacking incumbents over their failure to call Gaza actions genocide. The party appears poised to abandon both Biden's approach and Trump's tariff-heavy foreign policy in favor of something new, though the shape of that alternative remains unclear.