r/worldnewsvideo

After a night of progressive wins, Senator Bernie Sanders joins ‘Mehdi Unfiltered’ for the first time to share his reactions to the major primary victories of multiple Democratic socialists this election cycle, as well as Abdul El-Sayed’s “historical” win in Michigan.

“The Democratic leadership is, in many respects, way, way out of touch with where ordinary people are,” Sanders tells Mehdi, adding that the country’s “corrupt campaign finance system” might be starting to backfire on the super PACs pouring millions into elections.

During the interview, Mehdi asks Sanders why he didn’t endorse Francesca Hong, who lost her bid to be the Democratic nominee for Wisconsin governor by just a few thousand votes.

Mehdi also asks the socialist senator from Vermont whether restricting aid to Israel should be a litmus test for Democratic presidential candidates, and about criticism Sanders has received for his overriding focus on PM Benjamin Netanyahu, rather than Israel’s decades-long occupation and apartheid regime.

Plus, hear what Sanders has to say about his Senate colleague John Fetterman making a habit out of appearing on Fox to disparage him.

This interview was published on zeteo.com on Aug 12, 2026. If you would like EARLY access to exclusive interviews like this one, then do become a paid subscriber to Zeteo on Substack today - your support matters!

Chapters:

02:10 Michigan Primary

08:58 AIPAC

15:00 Fetterman

“I spoke with [Antony] Blinken and [Jake] Sullivan and [Joe] Biden, trying to tell them what the actual situation in Israel was like. But they’re socialized psychologically not to even be able to include in their agenda of possibilities what the realities are there.”

Why is the U.S. incapable of standing up to Israel? Who benefits most from the U.S.-Israel relationship? And is AIPAC’s influence in Washington starting to crack?

With AIPAC-backed candidates heading into this year’s midterm elections with massive financial backing but facing tougher races, Mehdi speaks with the authors of the new book, Israel’s Lobby: America in the Grip of a Foreign Power, about the changing power of the pro-Israel lobby.

Co-authors Eli Clifton and Ian Lustick join Mehdi to discuss AIPAC, why Washington struggles to say no to Israel, and whether the Israel lobby’s influence is finally beginning to wane.

Clifton argues that AIPAC’s silence is revealing, calling Israel a “toxic” issue for the lobby. He also notes that pro-Israel super PACs could raise and spend as much as a quarter of a billion dollars this election cycle. But money isn’t everything. Lustick details his attempts to convince Blinken, Sullivan, and Biden to confront the reality of Israel’s policies.

In the conversation — Mehdi, Clifton and Lustick also discuss how U.S. policy helped pave the way for the “extreme right-wing rogue state” Israel is today, whether AIPAC’s influence can be challenged, and what it would take to change the U.S.-Israel relationship.

Buy a copy of Clifton and Lustick’s book, ‘Israel’s Lobby: America in the Grip of a Foreign Power’

This interview published on August 11, 2026 at zeteo.com. If you want early, exclusive access to this kind of independent, unfiltered journalism — subscribe to our Substack here: https://zeteo.com/subs...

CHAPTERS

00:00 Intro

02:11 Israel’s Lobby and U.S. Politics

09:41 AIPAC and Israel Disagreements

12:26 U.S. Support for Israel

16:42 Israel’s Manipulation on America and Biden

23:24 Political Costs

25:39 Trump

28:03 Critique of Israel and Antisemitism

33:16 Tackling the Israel Lobby