U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna, a Democrat representing Silicon Valley, is facing criticism after publishing a social media post on Thursday that features an antisemitic influencer, whom Khanna later distanced himself from.
The post on X included an excerpt from a video produced by a popular YouTuber known as Tommy G, in which Khanna is interviewed. The outrage does not revolve around Tommy G but around Ian Carroll, who has gained fame as a conspiracy theorist. Carroll, who opens the video clip shared on X by Khanna, is a key source in the 50-minute video.
The clip first shows Carroll addressing the audience from inside the Hart Senate Office Building in Washington, D.C. Speaking about the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), Carroll says that a majority of U.S. senators “are taking money from a group that represents a foreign government and foreign interests, in order to operate our government on behalf of someone else.”
AIPAC is a U.S.-based pro-Israel lobbying and political advocacy group that ranked 18th in total contributions from organizations during the 2024 election cycle, according to Open Secrets.
Tommy G interviewed Carroll, Khanna, and others for his video called “Investigating Israeli Influence on US Politics.” U.S. Reps. Nancy Mace (R-South Carolina) and Hank Johnson (D-Georgia) were also interviewed.
The clip that Khanna shared on X includes a portion of Khanna’s sitdown with Tommy G, in which Khanna says he does not take money from AIPAC.
“It’s too much,” Khanna says. “All these PACs are too much. I don’t take a dime of PAC money, lobbyist money, since I’ve been in Congress.”
Khanna shared the video clip on X alongside a message.
“I don’t take a dime from any PAC or lobbyist, including AIPAC,” the message states. “I am proud to be one of the handful of Democrats standing up against Big Money.”
As of Friday afternoon, Khanna’s post garnered more than 14,000 likes and 1.3 million views.
The post prompted immediate and fierce blowback from X users with followings large and small. Many were shocked that Khanna would share a clip featuring Carroll.
“You just shared a Holocaust revisionist, conspiracy theorist, and a neo-Nazi, @RoKhanna. What are you even doing here?” wrote Elliot Malin, an attorney with 11,000 followers.
“This wasn’t your finest moment dude,” wrote journalist Jonah Goldberg.
Carroll is a wildly popular content creator who burst onto the scene after the onset of the Israel-Hamas war two years ago. He has accumulated more than a million followers and subscribers across YouTube, X and other platforms. In videos, podcasts and social media posts, Carroll has blamed Jews for the Holocaust while suggesting that pro-Israel forces are responsible for the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the assassination of Charlie Kirk, the sexual predations of Jeffrey Epstein and other crimes.
Carroll’s claim that AIPAC pays senators “in order to operate” the U.S. government takes a page out of a popular antisemitic conspiracy theory shared widely on the far-right that the U.S. is a “Zionist-Occupied Government.”
Khanna distanced himself from Carroll in subsequent X posts and in a statement emailed to J. on Friday.
“I never spoke to Ian for this or knew who he was,” Khanna wrote in response to Jonah Goldberg.
The X post came as Khanna increasingly finds himself in hot water among American Jews, including in his district, who perceive him to be courting popularity with staunch Israel critics, including those who traffic in antisemitism. Khanna has firmly rejected accusations of antisemitism and until recently had reliably voted in support of the U.S.-Israel alliance.
Tye Gregory, CEO of the Jewish Community Relations Council Bay Area and an AIPAC employee from 2010 to 2014, said he worked closely with Khanna years ago on numerous issues important to the Jewish community.
“He cared about Israel. We’ve seen a steady shift over time,” Gregory told J. on Friday, adding that he sees Khanna’s X post as antisemitic. Gregory shared his reaction with Khanna directly on X.
“@RoKhanna once upon a time, you and I worked together to invite elected officials to the annual east bay @AIPAC event,” Gregory wrote. “15 years later, you have taken a deeply disturbing turn against Israel, and worse, you are weaponizing antisemitic tropes. So deeply disappointing.”
Khanna also faced criticism from the Jewish community last month after speaking at ArabCon, a convention in Detroit. Speakers at the conference vilified Zionism, defended Hamas as a “Palestinian resistance” group and shrugged off the suggestion that anyone should condemn the Oct. 7 attack on Israel.
“I don’t agree with everyone who spoke at the conference, but I do believe in free speech,” Khanna told Jewish Insider in late September. “You can’t just be for free speech when it’s convenient.”
Khanna said that his views on Israel have shifted over time, writing directly to Gregory in response to his criticism on X.
“Thanks for engaging,” Khanna wrote. “Israel under Rabin, Peres, Barak was different. I have been deeply disturbed by Netanyahu, Likud and this war.” Khanna added that he is hoping for peace and a two-state solution.
Khanna, elected in 2016 to represent Silicon Valley, is a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.
His official record on Israel is mixed. He earned a failing grade in 2023 from AJP Action, a pro-Palestinian lobby that tracks congressional votes, for voting to fund Israel’s Iron Dome defense system, voting to affirm Israel’s right to exist and other resolutions perceived to be pro-Israel.
However, Khanna voted against sending additional aid to Israel last year and has led the movement to recognize a Palestinian state, which critics say rewards Hamas for its Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack. Recently Khanna has been leading the charge in Congress for transparency into the crimes of Jeffrey Epstein, working alongside Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Kentucky) and Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia).
Khanna responded to criticisms against him in a statement emailed to J. by a spokesperson on Friday.
“Congressman Khanna talked about his commitment to not take PAC and lobbyist money in a video by Tommy G, who told him the purpose of the video was rejecting big money in politics,” read the statement sent by spokesperson Sarah Drory. “Khanna never met or spoke to Ian Carroll during the filming of the video. Congressman Khanna strongly denounces any conspiracy theories about a Jewish syndicate or Israel being responsible for 9/11. He is appalled by those comments and rejects them.”