“I’m sorry” may not be enough to save him.
Embattled “Squad” Rep. Jamaal Bowman finally apologized this week for initially claiming that reports of rape and child murder during the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attack on Israel were “lies.”
“immediately [United Nations] “As additional evidence was presented, I voted to condemn sexual assault and I apologize for my comments,” Bowman said in an interview with WNYC on Monday. After the listener I questioned him about the matter.
“As soon as we received additional information from the UN, we condemned sexual violence, voted to condemn it, and are continuing our work.”
“At the beginning of the siege, propaganda was used,” Bowman said at an anti-Israel rally in White Plains on Nov. 17 last year.
“There is still no evidence that babies were decapitated or women were raped, and yet they continue to lie,” Bowman said in a TikTok video. First reported by Politico.
Bowman, 48, will face off against Westchester County Mayor George Latimer, 70, in the June 25 primary for the 16th Congressional District, which covers much of Westchester and parts of the northern Bronx.
The campaign broke the record for the most expensive ad spend in the history of a House primary, with more than $23 million spent on television, radio, digital and social media ads.
A recent Emerson College/WPIX poll found Bowman trailing Latimer by 17 points (48% to 31%) among primary voters, with 21% undecided.
Pro-Israel activists have accused Bowman of spreading Hamas propaganda by denying Israeli atrocities against women and children in the Oct. 7 attack that left an estimated 1,200 people dead, including 33 Americans.
Bowman had previously retracted his November comments, but Monday marked the first time the two-term congressman offered a humbly-apology.
“I’m not perfect. I’m going to make mistakes. I’m going to say things that are hurtful, even if I don’t mean to. And when I do, I’m going to take responsibility for them. I’m going to accept responsibility,” he told WNYC.
“I want to learn and grow and be the best representative I can be. That’s what my mother raised me to be, that’s who I am as an educator and who I am now.”
Latimer and pro-Israel activists said Bowman’s apology was “too little, too late.”
“It is wrong to deny rape. It is wrong to deny the brutal beheading of a baby. It is wrong to call rape victims liars,” Latimer’s campaign said in a statement Thursday.
“And that Mr. Bowman apologized for his lies six months later, and only now because he is on the brink of being forced from his job, speaks to his lack of decency and compassion. This is not simply a matter of his apology being ‘too little, too late.’ No one believes Mr. Bowman because he has proven he will say anything, no matter how dishonest, cruel or divisive, to stay in power.”
The majority of Israeli Democrats support Latimer. They released digital ads accusing Bowman of lying. He also mocked the lawmaker’s “half-hearted” apology on other issues.
“Congressman Jamaal Bowman has flip-flopped again. He wrongly called Hamas’ brutal sexual violence ‘propaganda,’ and now, on the eve of an election he likely will lose, he is offering a half-hearted apology,” said DMFI President Mark Mellman.
“Too little. Too late.”
Bowman, meanwhile, has been trying to connect with younger voters, making an appearance Wednesday night. On CBS’ “Late Show with Stephen Colbert”In it, he talks about hip hop and the Middle East war.
Bowman was quick to condemn Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel as “horrific,” but said Israel’s retaliation in Gaza was “collective punishment” and that “they must put down their guns,” and called for a permanent ceasefire.
Members of the House of Representatives are also expected to attend With rapper Cash Cobain Thursday night at the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester.
According to the Emerson/PIX/The Hill poll, Bowman leads Latimer 44% to 35% among voters under 40, while the Westchester executive leads by double digits among older voters.
