Pod Save America hosts on tour. Photo: Screenshot

The hosts of the influential progressive podcast “Pod Save America” — all one-time aides to former US President Barack Obama — on Tuesday called on the future Democratic presidential nominee to cut all funding and military ties with Israel, urging party leaders to adopt a “total mindset change” in their relationship with the Jewish state. 

The trio of hosts — Tommy Vietor, Jon Lovett, and Jon Favreau — also said that Democrats should no longer accept money from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), send Israel military aid, or block anti-Israel resolutions at the United Nations. The Obama administration alumni lambasted Israel for deteriorating humanitarian conditions in the Gaza strip and pursuing military action in Lebanon, Iran, and Syria. 

There has to be a total mindset change in the Democratic party. When the war ends, we are not going back to the pre-October 7 status quo. pic.twitter.com/Bow5zmYS2v

— Pod Save America (@PodSaveAmerica) July 29, 2025

“The things I want to see Democrats at least calling for is cutting off military assistance to Israel,” Vietor said. “I would like to see talk about sanctioning Israeli government officials that use genocidal rhetoric or talk about ethnic cleansing openly. We should support a ceasefire resolution at the UN.”

“When the war ends, we are not going back to the pre-Oct. 7 status quo,” he added, referring to the period before the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, invasion of and massacre across southern Israel.

Vietor argued that the Democratic Party should not develop close ties to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, decrying former US President Joe Biden’s decision to maintain a tight bond with the Israeli premier. He accused Netanyahu of continuing the war in Gaza for political purposes and said that he attacks Iran, Syria, and Lebanon “when he wants to.”

In the immediate aftermath of the Oct. 7 attacks, Hezbollah, a Lebanese terrorist organization, pummeled northern Israel almost daily with barrages of missiles. The Lebanese Islamist movement fired over 10,000 projectiles at Israel in 2024. About 70,000 Israelis were forced to evacuate their homes in northern Israel and flee to other parts of the country as a result. Israel responded with a blistering campaign targeting key command centers, military leaders, and weapons depots crippling Hezbollah’s military infrastructure.

Both Hamas and Hezbollah are backed by Iran, which the US intelligence community has for years identified as the world’s foremost state sponsor of terrorism.

“Especially if we are going to head into a primary, like, table stakes is going to be no more military aid for Israel,” Lovett added. 

The ongoing Israel-Hamas war in Gaza has divided the American political left. Polling suggests that commanding majorities of liberals now express greater empathy for Palestinians than Israelis, representing a massive shift from previous years. 

Seemingly in response to a shifting sentiment among liberal voters, the “Pod Save America” hosts have adopted a more adversarial posture against Israel in recent months.