White House slams Cori Bush’s threat to AIPAC to ‘tear your kingdom down’
A White House spokeswoman implied that Bush’s rhetoric could inspire political violence

Rep. Cori Bush, a Missouri Democrat, gestures to the crowd prior to delivering her concession speech during a primary election watch party at Chevre Events, St. Louis, Aug. 6, 2024. (Michael B. Thomas/Getty Images)
(JTA) — WASHINGTON — The White House condemned as “inflammatory” a pledge by Missouri Rep. Cori Bush to AIPAC that she would “tear your kingdom down,” implying that heated rhetoric like hers could inspire political violence.
Bush, a member of the “Squad,” the group of far-left Democrats that is harshly critical of Israel, lost a costly primary on Tuesday to St. Louis County prosecutor Wesley Bell.
Political action committees allied with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee spent more than $9 million against Bush, making the election the third this cycle in which they have supported successful challengers to incumbents seen as hostile to Israel.
Bush, elected in 2020, told her followers after her defeat that it had “radicalized” her and said the groups that brought her done “should be afraid.”
“There is nothing that happens in my life that happens in vain,” she said, saying she would no longer be bound by the conventions of being a congresswoman. “And let me say this: AIPAC, I’m coming to tear your kingdom down!”
The phrase “tear your kingdom down” is in the title of a gospel hymn popularized by Shirley Caesar. In that song, the phrase is addressed to Satan and describes an array of church figures who will participate in bringing him down.
Asked the following day about Bush’s remarks, Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House press secretary, pointed to President Joe Biden’s remarks last month after an assassination attempt on his predecessor and the current Republican presidential nominee, Donald Trump. (The motives of the gunman who shot at Trump at a Pennsylvania rally are not yet known. Secret Service agents returning fire killed the gunman.)
“The president has always been very clear, and very recently, after the assassination attempt of the last president, about lowering rhetoric,” Jean-Pierre said. “It is important that we be very mindful of what we say. This kind of rhetoric is inflammatory and divisive and incredibly unhelpful.”
Marshall Wittmann, AIPAC’s spokesman, said the lobby would not be intimidated by Bush.
“We will not be deterred by those from the extremist, anti-Israel fringe in our efforts to strengthen America’s alliance with the Jewish state,” he said. “Voters across America are rejecting anti-Israel voices in favor of candidates who understand the vital importance of the U.S.-Israel relationship.”
The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Most Popular
- 1
Opinion The dangerous Nazi legend behind Trump’s ruthless grab for power
- 2
Opinion A Holocaust perpetrator was just celebrated on US soil. I think I know why no one objected.
- 3
Culture Did this Jewish literary titan have the right idea about Harry Potter and J.K. Rowling after all?
- 4
Opinion I first met Netanyahu in 1988. Here’s how he became the most destructive leader in Israel’s history.
In Case You Missed It
-
Fast Forward Trump administration restores student visas, but impact on pro-Palestinian protesters is unclear
-
Fast Forward Deborah Lipstadt says Trump’s campus antisemitism crackdown has ‘gone way too far’
-
Fast Forward 5 Jewish senators accuse Trump of using antisemitism as ‘guise’ to attack universities
-
Fast Forward Jewish Democratic Rep. Jan Schakowsky reportedly to retire after 26 years in office
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
Republish This Story
Please read before republishing
We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines.
You must comply with the following:
- Credit the Forward
- Retain our pixel
- Preserve our canonical link in Google search
- Add a noindex tag in Google search
See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.
To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.