It is remarkable how Joe Biden has dropped out of the news since he withdrew from the presidential race. Is he, in fact, still the president? These days, you could get the impression that Kamala is in charge. She is, in any event, the one the press cares about.
So probably no reporter will ask Biden about his opposition to Israel’s apparent killing of top Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran:
Asked how worried he was about whether the death of Haniyeh would make a ceasefire deal more difficult, Biden said that he was “very concerned.” He added that he had told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier in the day that they had “the basis for a ceasefire. He should move on it, and they should move on it now.”
Asked a follow-up question about whether the death of Haniyeh “ruined” chances for a ceasefire, Biden said “It is not helpful.”
In my view, the Israelis should stop firing when the war is over. Biden’s desperate plea for an end to the fighting, with Hamas still in existence and poised to retain power, is the road to Israeli defeat. In the aftermath of October 7, Biden’s refusal to applaud the death of a top Hamas leader is downright perverse.
