President Joe Biden can attempt to deny that he has now publicly engaged in election interference, but no thinking American voter is going to buy that argument.
Of course, he was only following in the footsteps of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who in a Senate floor speech on Thursday said that it was time for new elections in Israel.
“As a lifelong supporter of Israel, it has become clear to me: The Netanyahu coalition no longer fits the needs of Israel after Oct. 7,” Schumer said, referring to the attack by Hamas that targeted and killed hundred of Israeli civilians and took hundreds more captive, according to The Hill.
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“The world has changed — radically — since then, and the Israeli people are being stifled right now by a governing vision that is stuck in the past,” he added.
Unsurprising, Republicans immediately argued that Schumer had no right to interfere with Israel’s democratic process — and so did a number of prominent Democrats.
Biden, however, was not among their number. Instead, the president supported the New York Democrat’s statement.
“I’m not going to elaborate on the speech,” Biden told reporters during a meeting in the Oval Office with Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar.
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“He made a good speech, and I think he expressed serious concern shared not only by him, but by many Americans,” Biden added.
John Kirby, however, soon added that the president’s remarks were not intended to communicate a lessening of support for Israel from the Biden administration.
Are Biden’s actions far more serious election interference than anything Russia allegedly did in 2016?
Yes: 99% (2878 Votes)
No: 1% (37 Votes)
“For our part, we’re going to keep supporting Israel in their fight against Hamas,” the White House national security advisor said.
“We’re going to keep urging them to reduce civilian casualties,” he added. “And we’re going to keep working to get a temporary cease-fire in place.”
The White House told Axios that Schumer had given the Biden administration a copy of his speech in advance, but congressional Democrats weren’t provided the same consideration.
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“I would demand that there be no foreign influence on our elections, so I’m not in that,” Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, a Democrat who has expressed strong support for Israel in the past, told the outlet.
“Although I have disagreements with Israel’s government, I respect the Israelis’ right to decide for themselves when to call elections and whom to choose as their leaders,” Illinois Democratic Rep. Brad Schneider added.
Some Republicans expressed even stronger disapproval of Schumer’s statement.
“It is grotesque and hypocritical for Americans who hyperventilate about interference in our own democracy to call for the removal of a democratically elected leader of Israel,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell told The Hill.
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And even Netanyahu’s rivals in Israel pushed back on Schumer’s speech.
“Benny Gantz, a leading rival of Netanyahu who serves in his wartime Cabinet, called Schumer’s remarks a ‘mistake,'” The Hill reported Friday. “Gantz is a top contender to replace Netanyahu and met with Schumer in Washington only last week.”
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George Upper is the former Editor-in-Chief of The Western Journal and was a weekly co-host of "WJ Live," powered by The Western Journal. He is currently a contributing editor in the areas of faith, politics and culture. A former U.S. Army special operator, teacher and consultant, he is a lifetime member of the NRA and an active volunteer leader in his church. Born in Foxborough, Massachusetts, he has lived most of his life in central North Carolina.
George Upper, is the former editor-in-chief of The Western Journal and is now a contributing editor in the areas of faith, politics and culture. He currently serves as the connections pastor at Awestruck Church in Greensboro, North Carolina. He is a former U.S. Army special operator, teacher, manager and consultant. Born in Massachusetts, he graduated from Foxborough High School before joining the Army and spending most of the next three years at Fort Bragg. He holds bachelor's and master's degrees in English as well as a Master's in Business Administration, all from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He and his wife life only a short drive from his three children, their spouses and his grandchildren. He is a lifetime member of the NRA and in his spare time he shoots, reads a lot of Lawrence Block and John D. MacDonald, and watches Bruce Campbell movies. He is a fan of individual freedom, Tommy Bahama, fine-point G-2 pens and the Oxford comma.
