With less than two weeks to go before voters in St. Louis and St. Louis County decide their nationally watched race, Congressman Wesley Bell and Cori Bush clashed in an intense joint appearance Friday.
The two Democrats got into tense exchanges about their campaign finance donations and spending during an appearance on “The Politically Speaking Hour on St. Louis on the Air.” Bell also accused Bush of not working hard enough to elect Democratic nominee Kamala Harris as president in 2024.
“You called her a fascist at a time when this election came down to a few thousand votes in five or six states, and everyone understood the assignment except you,” Bell said.
Bell was referring to a comment Bush made in an October 2024 interview with Al-Jazeera, in which she said: “What I’m hearing is people say: ‘Well, we’re talking about fighting fascism. We don’t need the fascism that comes along with a Donald Trump presidency.’ But I feel like I’m seeing fascism right now, you know, with a Joe Biden presidency and a Vice President Harris presidency.”
Bush said Friday: “Did I call them fascists? No. There was a rise in fascism, starting with the Trump administration. And then how we were able to send so much money to go and bomb people in another country, and it was so much of that was funded by a lot of the people that fund Congressman Wesley Bell through these PACs.”
Brian Munoz
/
St. Louis Public Radio
Former U.S. Rep. Cori Bush makes a point during a joint appearance Friday with Rep. Wesley Bell, D-St. Louis County, at St. Louis Public Radio ahead of the August primary.
Brian Munoz
/
St. Louis Public Radio
U.S. Rep. Wesley Bell, D-St. Louis County, reacts as former Rep. Cori Bush speaks during a joint appearance on STLPR’s “Politically Speaking Hour on St. Louis on the Air.”
Bush was alluding to how Bell has received support from pro-Israel groups like the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. She later said she would vote to cut off military aid to Israel if elected to Congress in November.
“As stated by Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, a genocide is happening in Gaza,” Bush said. “Now, funding for other things that they may need, I have no problem with that. But to harm other people for weapons, absolutely.”
Bell declined to call Israel’s military action in Gaza a genocide. He also said he would oppose cutting off military aid to the country.
“I am no fan of Donald Trump, but I love my country,” Bell said. “I am no fan of [Israeli Prime Minister] Bibi Netanyahu, but we’re still going to stand with our allies. And when we disagree, there’s going to be disagreements. And I’ve been able to say to his face that I disagree with him. But it’s important that we stand with our allies in Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan, Western Europe.”
The two did agree on “Medicare for All” and their opposition to the war in Iran. They also promised to deliver relief to help St. Louis recover from last year’s deadly tornado.
Brian Munoz
/
St. Louis Public Radio
Former U.S. Rep. Cori Bush pauses during an appearance with Rep. Wesley Bell, D-St. Louis County, on Friday.
Brian Munoz
/
St. Louis Public Radio
U.S. Rep. Wesley Bell, D-St. Louis County, during a joint appearance with former Rep. Cori Bush at St. Louis Public Radio ahead of August’s Democratic primary
Bell said the big barrier in getting tornado relief funds is President Donald Trump.
“The reason that St. Louis is not getting all of the disaster relief funds that we need is because we have a jackass in the office in the White House right now,” Bell said.
Bush cited her ability to get quick disaster relief after floods in 2022 when President Joe Biden was in office. She said she would aggressively seek out that money again.
“I’ve been criticized for wanting to be on TV a lot,” Bush said. “But when I’m on TV, I’m talking about St. Louis. Because that’s how people know. And so, the more you speak about it, the more the urgency is there and the awareness.”
Bell and Bush clash on campaign spending, Israel in fiery faceoff
They used to be friends
The joint appearance showcased the fractured relationship between the two former allies.
Bush and Bell both cited their experiences in Ferguson after Michael Brown’s shooting death as formative for how they view politics. And a diverse group of progressive voters helped Bell defeat St. Louis County Prosecutor Bob McCulloch in 2018 and Bush upend Congressman Lacy Clay in 2020.
But the schism between the two occurred two years ago when Bell abandoned his bid for the U.S. Senate to take on Bush after she was critical of Israel in the wake of Hamas’ Oct. 7 terrorist attack. The animosity spilled over into the joint appearance, especially when Bell highlighted how Bush has paid herself a salary from campaign donations and her husband to do security work for her campaign.
“What Cori has done is she’s raised money and then routed it into her own bank account for her own use,” Bell said.
It is legal for candidates to pay themselves a salary – and pay family members – with campaign donations. Bush said she trusted her husband to handle security while she was getting death threats.
“There was an incident actually where my life was on the line, where someone was coming for me,” she said. “My husband was able to save me in that situation.”
Bell also accused Bush of raising money for tornado relief and then shifting those funds to a political action committee. When asked if she did that, Bush replied that “there was no hiding of money or moving money.”
“We raised money to be able to at least give people toothbrushes and to give out tarps,” Bush said.
The primary election is Aug. 4.
