Jon Favreau — a former speechwriter in the Obama White House — says President Joe Biden‘s refusal to increase pressure on Israel to stop its military from killing civilians in Gaza makes him look “weak.” The former Obama speechwriter and host of the liberal Pod Save America podcast has joined a growing list of influential Democrats who have publicly criticized Biden for what they see as a soft response to an Israeli military strike that killed seven humanitarian aid workers earlier this week.
“The President doesn’t get credit for being ‘privately enraged’ when he still refuses to use leverage to stop the IDF from killing and starving innocent people,” Favreau wrote Wednesday in a post on X (formerly Twitter). He added: “These stories only make him look weak.”
On Tuesday, President Biden said those responsible for the Israeli strike and civilian deaths should be held accountable. “Israel has not done enough to protect aid workers trying to deliver desperately needed help to civilians,” the President said in a statement. He continued: “Incidents like yesterday’s simply should not happen. Israel has also not done enough to protect civilians.” On background, White House officials insisted to the corporate media that Biden was “angry.”
For an increasing number of Democrat lawmakers on Capitol Hill, however, the statement by Biden wasn’t enough. Over the past two days, several of the President’s top allies in the Senate called for a shift in his approach to Israel. On a Wednesday appearance on MSNBC, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) warned the White House: “The polling is very clear: The Democratic base wants to stop funding Netanyahu’s war machine.” Meanwhile, Sen. Chris Coons told CNN on Thursday that he was open to conditioning any further aid to Israel on the reduction of civilian casualties.
show lessThe President doesn't get credit for being "privately enraged" when he still refuses to use leverage to stop the IDF from killing and starving innocent people. These stories only make him look weak.https://t.co/9UbQpPtYXZ
— Jon Favreau (@jonfavs) April 3, 2024