- President Biden remained silent after it was revealed that nine Americans were killed in Hamas’ terrorist attack in Israel over the weekend
- Biden will not be appearing Monday to remark on the loss of life – after also remaining out of the pubic eye on Sunday
- Administration hosted a BBQ with live music for White House staff on Sunday
Joe Biden was lambasted for staying silent on Monday as war raged and nine Americans were confirmned dead in ‘Israel’s 9/11‘.
The president delivered a speech lasting less than three minutes on Saturday condemning the brutal Hamas terrorist attack.
On Sunday, he was briefed that Americans were among the victims but he said nothing publicly all day, and still went forward with hosting a staff BBQ, featuring a live band, at the White House.
Then, on Monday morning, as the world awaited his response to the loss of American life, the White House said Biden would not be making any appearances for the second day in a row.
Meanwhile, other world leaders publicly expressed support for Israel.
National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby assured on Monday that Biden was at the White House despite the lack of public events.
‘You’ve got to be shitting me?!? It’s Monday at noon,’ Donald Trump Jr. posted to X upon hearing news the president had decided not to make any remarks.
He added: ‘Our greatest ally in the Middle East is at war, women and children are being slaughtered and raped in the streets, and our imbecile president is checking out before lunch?’
Following an intense backlash, the White House was forced to release a detailed account of what Biden was doing Monday to respond to the conflict.
It included meeting earlier in the morning with Secretary of State Antony Blinken, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, Principal Deputy National Security Advisor Jon Finer, Homeland Security Advisor Liz Sherwood-Randall, and White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients.
‘He directed his team to follow up on coordination with Israel on all aspects of the crisis and to continue their work with regional partners to warn anyone who might seek to take advantage in this situation,’ a White House statement said.
‘This afternoon, President Biden will be speaking with several of our close allies about the latest developments in Israel and we will have more to share soon.’
In the last two days, Biden has posted several tweets from the official POTUS account about a wide variety of topics including student debt relief, taxing billionaires, creating good-paying union jobs and backing technology innovations.
He did post once on X about the ongoing conflict, writing: ‘This morning, I spoke with [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu] to express my full support for the people of Israel in the face of an unprecedented and appalling assault by Hamas terrorists.’
‘We will remain in close contact over the coming days,’ the president assured in the Sunday post. ‘The U.S. will continue to stand with the people of Israel.’
During the call, Netanyahu reportedly told Biden that a ground offensive in Gaza against Hamas is critical and there is no time for negotiations.
Instead of hearing from Biden on Monday regarding the American deaths, White House Deputy Press Secretary Andrew Bates released a statement slamming Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel for using the violence as an ‘opportunity’ to put the blame on the president.
‘At least nine Americans have lost their lives in these brutal terrorist attacks against the State of Israel. Hundreds of additional innocent people are dead,’ Bates wrote in a statement.
He added: ‘While apparently some individuals like Ronna McDaniel consider this loss of life and pain a great opportunity, most Americans see it as a horrific tragedy.’
‘As the administration provides assistance to the Israeli Defense Force, this is a moment in which all Americans, regardless of political views, should stand shoulder to shoulder with one of our closest allies. No one can ever welcome this kind of hideous behavior or try to divide our country when we need to be united.’
Republicans were quick to claim that Biden’s three-minute remarks on Saturday were not enough to show the extent of the U.S. support for Israel.