Critics quickly pummeled President Biden over his response to the unprecedented escalation from Iran against Israel, blasting him for not addressing the public right away and being more supportive of the US ally.
Biden, 81 pushed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu against carrying out a retaliatory attack against Tehran amid fears of such actions spiraling into a larger war, according to multiple reports.
This particularly animated his critics.
“I don’t agree with that,” Sen. John Fetterman (D-Penn.) told CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday. “I just think we should follow and have Israel’s back in the situation.”
“I don’t agree with the president. That doesn’t change anything that he’s a fantastic president, and I’m proud to stand with him and campaign for him and vote for him.”
Fetterman stressed that Biden is “entitled to his own views” but he insisted “I would never capitulate to the fringe.”
Like Biden, Fetterman has faced severe blowback from progressives for his support of Israel in its war against Hamas. Fetterman, however, has been unabashed about his pro-Israel stance.
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) accused the administration of leaking Biden’s discussion with Netanyahu to the press in order to further pressure Israel against retaliation.
“Why would the White House leak it? There’s only one reason they leaked that, and that is that so when Israel does respond, the White House can say we told them not to do it,” Rubio told CNN.
Rubio further accused the White House of trying to “appease” his “far-left” base.
Former President Donald Trump’s ex-National Security Adviser John Bolton also recoiled at reports that Biden nudged Netanyahu against striking back at Iran.
“If Joe Biden as some press reports, have it, is urging the Israelis not to retaliate at all, he is an embarrassment to the United States,” Bolton told CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday.
“This is in America’s interest to make sure that Iran, which is the principal threat to international peace and security in the region, is at a minimum put in its place.”
The White House pushed back at criticism over Biden’s response and anyone questioning his commitment to Israel.
National Security Council spokesman John Kirby was coy about what Biden told Netanyahu during their call on Saturday in the wake of the salvo of Iranian attacks barrelling toward the Jewish state.
“The president has been a man of his word. He said we’re going to help Israel defend itself, and we’ve been doing that,” Kirby told CNN when asked if Biden was against Israel retaliating
Kirby also pointed out that the US intercepted dozens of drones and missiles before they reached Israeli airspace.
Kirby also shrugged off Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s (R-Ky) call on Biden to “match words with actions.”
“I don’t know how you can look at what happened and say that he hasn’t,” Kirby said.
The president also weathered blowback for his decision not to deliver public remarks on Saturday.
Biden, 81, had cut short his weekend beach trip to Delaware Saturday and bolted back to the White House ahead of the widely anticipated attack from Iran against Israel over the strike that killed Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Zahedi and deputy Gen. Mohammad Hadi Hajriahimi earlier this month.
But not long after hundreds of Iranian missiles and explosive drones barreled toward Israel, the White House announced that Biden would have no more public events, and the president declined to deliver public remarks.
The announcement — “calling a lid,” in Beltway jargon — was made just after 5 p.m. Saturday.
Behind the scenes, Biden directed the US response, holding a call with Netanyahu to congratulate him on an “incredible military achievement” by fending off the garage of Iranian attacks, according to Kirby.
The president also later put out a statement to “condemn these attacks in the strongest possible terms,” directed the military to assist in the downing of Iranian weaponry, and announced plans to convene an emergency meeting of the Group of 7 leaders.
Prominent Republicans and conservatives weren’t pleased.
“Joe Biden and the White House shamefully called a lid and refused to address the nation and the world. Their silence is deafening,” House Republican Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik (R-NY) said.
“On the contrary, President Trump is scheduled to speak to the American people in PA where I am certain he will make unequivocally clear that America stands with Israel and condemn Iran’s heinous attacks,” she added, referencing the former president’s planned rally in Pennsylvania Saturday.
“I don’t care what political party you belong to, I think we can all agree that the leader of the free world should project strength, clarity and conviction,” conservative commentator Joey Mannarino said.
“Biden couldn’t even speak yesterday as a major conflict that could lead to a world war broke out. We didn’t hear from him at all. Any other President would have been out front and center leading the way and telling Iran to cut it out.”
“If a Republican president went to his vacation home for the weekend knowing an attack on a major ally was all but certain, the mainstream media would be apoplectic and torching him as rudderless,” NewsBusters managing editor Curtis Houck chided.
“But because it’s a Democrat in Joe Biden, they won’t speak up.”
“Biden is weak and has dementia. Our adversaries do not respect us. This is the result,” OutKick founder Clay Travis said.
Trump, 77, who presided over an escalation with Iran after he ordered a strike to kill Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani in January 2020, knocked his successor.
Iran carried out retaliatory strikes near US assets in the region afterward and Trump kept his powder dry in response.
“I want to say God bless the people of Israel — they’re under attack right now,” Trump declared at a Saturday rally in Schnecksville, Penn. “That’s because we show great weakness.”
“It would not have happened if we were in office.”