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New York Liberty player Natasha Cloud made unsubstantiated claims that U.S. taxpayers pay for free health care for Israeli citizens while weighing in on the ongoing U.S. government shutdown on Tuesday, the two-year anniversary of the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks on Israel.
“Happy Tuesday. Our government is shut down because Republicans want to take away health care from hard-working Americans. ISRAEL has free health care. Paid for by none other than US TAXPAYERS. What are we really talking about?” Cloud wrote in X.
Israel has its own universal healthcare system funded by a national income tax and an income-related health tax paid by its residents. However, some US aid has an indirect impact on Israel’s healthcare sector, primarily through military aid and smaller, targeted grants for medical equipment.
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New York Liberty guard Natasha Cloud (9) during a game against the Golden State Valkyries at Barclays Center. (John Jones/Image Images)
Meanwhile, Senate Democrats on Wednesday blocked Republicans’ attempt to reopen the government for the sixth time as pressure and threats from the White House mounted. Democrats, led by Senate Minority Leader Chuck SchumerDN.Y., have focused the fight to reopen the government on health care, specifically through the blunt instrument of the expiration of tax credits under Obamacare, also known as the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
Cloud’s post generated criticism and fact-checking on social media.
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New York Liberty guard Natasha Cloud (9) is in the game against the Atlanta Dream during the first quarter at Gateway Center Arena in College Park, Georgia, on August 23, 2025. (Jordan Godfree/Image Images)
Cloud has sparked controversy over the past year for expressing left-wing views on social media.
Cloud made several controversial posts following the murder of Charlie Kirk and the arrest of suspected killer Tyler Robinson last month. Cloud even deleted a post by X that sparked backlash, in which he made assumptions about the political beliefs of the alleged killer’s family.
“So how have you twisted this? Raised in a good middle class family, Dad was a church officer/leader, a family of Republicans and gun owners. [and] Trump supporters,” Cloud said in the since-deleted post.
Cloud left several other controversial posts on his feed. One publication made the unsubstantiated claim that Robinson was a “far-right Republican.”
“Tyler Robinson and his parents were Republicans. FAR RIGHT REPUBLICANS,” Cloud wrote.
Cloud also left a post on his feed that contained a racially charged comment about Robinson and linked the murder to recent threats against historically black colleges and universities. The FBI, in a statement at the time, said it was “aware of false threat calls” to HBCUs.
“So why were they threatening HBCUs when it was a 22 year old white kid from Utah who shot Charlie? Racism. Not politics. Racism. The difference in politics is they give tax cuts to billionaires. They’re all dumb, but I digress. Their hatred for other people is not politics,” Cloud wrote.
In July, he made controversial comments about President Donald Trump and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Cloud, who has been a strong supporter of socialist New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, praised the candidate and warned Trump against sending ICE to the city.
“Mamdani, boy!” he told reporters after a New York Liberty practice.
“If Donny wants to come here, if ICE wants to try to come here, that’s fine.
“But [they’re] I’m going to learn the hard way… New Yorkers really don’t mess around. They don’t play with each other. Don’t play with this city.”
Cloud went on a long rant about his support for socialism and his belief that Trump’s opposition is “getting to them.”
“I just think it’s reckless on the part of our president, reckless on the part of this administration, but it’s also exciting for us, the people, because that’s when you know we’re reaching out to them.”
In June, he apparently reacted to the US military attacks about key Iranian nuclear sites, writing in X, “A Sad, Sad Day” and “Grounds for Impeachment.”
New York Liberty guard Natasha Cloud (9) reacts after making an assist in the fourth against the Atlanta Dream at Barclays Center. (Wendell Cruz/Image Images)
In February, Cloud responded to the president donald trump decision to eliminate several government DEI programs.
“The power systems are working the way they were always supposed to work,” Cloud told The Associated Press. “And it’s time to tear down a system that has focused solely on white men.”
Cloud and Liberty’s season ended on September 19 when they were eliminated from the WNBA playoffs in the first round against the Phoenix Mercury.
