‘Fraud!’ MAGA lawmaker explodes after Dem slams genocidal rhetoric

Rep. Randy Fine (R-FL) took aim at Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) on Thursday after being called out on previous comments espousing genocidal rhetoric toward Palestinian civilians and children.

On Tuesday, Fine wrote in a social media post that, while Hamas continues to hold any Israeli hostages, Palestinian civilians and children should continue to “starve away.” His comments were in response to an ABC News report detailing the death of 15 Palestinian civilians – including four children – who had died in the past 24 hours due to malnutrition amid famine.

Responding to Fine’s post on Thursday, Torres, a staunch supporter of Israel, ripped into his comments as “an evil thing to say.”

Apparently not pleased with Torres’ comments, Fine fired back, calling the New York Democrat a “fraud,” and the original ABC News report “debunked Hamas propaganda.”

“What a fraud,” Fine wrote Thursday in a social media post. “My post was in response to debunked Hamas propaganda, which Torres conveniently edits out. Guess he is getting his talking points from his new bff Mamdami (sic). With friends like this, Jews don't need enemies.”

As of April, the Palestinian Ministry of Health in the occupied West Bank reports that at least 61,709 Palestinians have been killed since the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023, including 17,492 children, with 111,588 injured. Another 14,222 are reported missing and presumed dead.

The world-renowned and peer-reviewed medical journal The Lancet, however, estimated last year that the death toll could have been as high as 186,000 as of July 2024. Israel has suffered at least 1,139 deaths since the conflict began, with at least 8,730 injured.