Rep. Ro Khanna on Paul Pelosi Hammer Attack, Ending Ukraine War and Rethinking U.S.-Saudi Relations

This clip is from the Oct. 31, 2022 broadcast.

Police in California have arrested a 42-year-old man for breaking into House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's home and assaulting her 82-year-old husband with a hammer. Paul Pelosi suffered a skull fracture and other injuries, but is expected to make a full recovery. "Democracy Now!" speaks to Democratic Congressmember Ro Khanna of California as President Biden links the attack on the Pelosis to election conspiracy theories spread by Republicans. Khanna says "he is sickened by what happened" and that simply condemning violence is not enough. "What we need to be responding to is the threat of political violence that is being stoked by conspiracy theories and propaganda and hate speech," he says.

And why did members of the House Progressive Caucus retract a letter to President Biden that called for diplomatic engagement with Russia to end the war in Ukraine? Khanna, one of the signatories, says he continues to stand by the letter despite the decision to withdraw it. "This letter simply affirms that while we stand with Ukraine, we also have those diplomatic channels," says Khanna, who adds that President Biden and senior military figures have expressed similar sentiments about the need for diplomacy.

"Democracy Now!" also speaks with Khanna about Saudi Arabia. He says the country should face consequences for its decision to cut oil output by 2 million barrels a day as part of the OPEC+ cartel, raising gas prices in the United States just before the midterm elections where cost-of-living issues are expected to be a major factor. He also discusses the Saudi-led war in Yemen, describing it as "one of the largest humanitarian crises in the world" that must be brought to an end. Khanna recently co-authored legislation calling on the United States to stop arms transfers to Saudi Arabia.