On Oct. 17 Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal visited the UConn Stamford campus for an interview with host John Dankosky for his monthly interview series, In The Room.
This interview series follows Dankosky who conducts interviews with Connecticut’s top elected officials to discuss policy and the lives of the officials behind these policies.
During the interview the senator answered questions regarding topics such as his work that day prior to the interview, his thoughts on the war in Ukraine, the procedure following the death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, his visit to Israel, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Soudi Arabia, bipartisan work with Republican Sen. Linsey Graham and age limits for senators.
At the beginning of the interview the senator was asked where he had been throughout the day to which he said he was at an award announcement of $640,000 to renovate senior citizen and disability housing in Simsbury, Conn.
He had also done a press conference earlier that day discussing his 54 page senate report outlining the rise in healthcare denial rates for preauthorization on post-acute care; mainly coming from three largest Medicare Advantage insurers, United Healthcare, Humana, and CVS.
Following this, he attended a ribbon cutting event for Wayland Boys & Girls club in Bridgeport, Conn, which opened a new technology training room that was sponsored by ASML.
The senator was asked about his ability to attend numerous events in a single day and at what point does he think he should slow down and set a lower minimum of daily event to attend.
“…I sometimes think about whether I want to do that last event, and then I realize, that last event is really gonna be fun and it will mean something to someone,” Blumenthal said. “And you know, people come up to me and they say, ‘I’m so glad to see you again.’”
During the interview, the senator emphasized his support for Ukraine and helping their cause.
Blumenthal pointed out the fact that he has visited Ukraine six times within the past two and a half years along with Sen. Lindsey Graham to show his commitment to Ukraine and the bipartisan work with republicans.
He continued by saying that he believes a ceasefire in Ukraine would only allow for a temporary pause, and that Vladimir Putin would come back just as he invaded and annexed the Crimean Peninsula in Ukraine in 2014 and again in 2022.
Sen. Blumenthal also brought up Biden’s late response to the war in Ukraine.
“I advocated that we give him permission to strike into Russian territory, I advocated that we give them the F-16s and the Abrams Tanks,” Blumenthal said. “Now I’m advocating that we give them permission to strike deeper into Russia.”
Dankosky asked a question regarding the recent death of Hamas’s leader Yahya Sinwar, asking “what do you think this means for an end to the war in Gaza and return of the hostages there?”
The senator responded by saying that, “Sinwar’s death establishes justice and hopes for the victims and loved ones, including Americans, whose torture and killing Sinwar masterminded. He is the architect of the October 7th… how to characterize it, savage atrocity.”
Sen. Blumenthal also added that it offers hope that there is a path towards a ceasefire, return of the hostages, normalization of relations, and humanitarian aid.
“There has to be more of it, and healing,” said Blumenthal, who mentioned that negotiations should not only lead to just a ceasefire but also an expansion of the Abraham Accords.
Dankosky then brought up a quote from Sen.Chris Murphy, “‘There is political upside in not signing a ceasefire’ not to put words in the senator’s mouth but essentially he seems to be saying and other people agree with him that it’s not in Netanyahu’s best interests to sign a ceasefire agreement because this is how he maintains political control in Israel.” Dankosky then asked, “You’ve met with the man recently, is Chris Murphy right about that?”
Blumenthal responded by saying that he believes that Netanyahu has a potential for historical legacy if he can make peace to guarantee Israel’s security.
He said that he has urged, along with Senator Lindsey Graham, that “…there has to be a day after. Israel has to win the peace not just the war and there is an opportunity now for him [Netanyhu] to pivot in a way that advances him politically, but it can also…it can potentially leave him with a legacy that is historic.”
Blumenthal continued, “…he has to consider not only his political interest, but also the military position that he has right now, at what point has the general said we’ve accomplished our objective, we’ve guaranteed our security, maybe Sinwar’s death has enabled them to come closer to that goal.”
Dankosky had also asked if the scale of tragedy in Gaza is the right type of response from Israel compared to what happened to the people of Israel on October 7th.
“If you’re asking me, should every one of those 2000 pound bombs have been used in every single instance they were used?” Blumenthal said. “Probably not, there’s no question over a year’s worth of time there were mistakes inadvertently, maybe innocent in quotes, but I’m not here to second-guess every single decision that was made, Israel has to defend itself, it has a right and responsibility to defend itself.”
When asked about senators who continue to run for office at the average age of requirement, Blumenthal said that people at seniority level are usually more effective. Using himself as an example, he said that it has the ability to be more effective in terms of securing grants and funding, for resources such as fire equipment for Middlefield and West Haven, Conn.
