While Democratic strategists have long tried to downplay and dismiss President Biden's obvious age and cognitive issues—which have been on continual display of late—he has just made fresh comments which illustrate the dangers of these persistent issues for the Commander-in-Chief and for the nation at a moment the Middle East stands on the brink of major war.
The 81-year-old president said in an interview with Nexstar Media’s Reshad Hudson that he is urgently trying to de-escalate tensions centering on Gaza and Iran, following Iran's Saturday night unprecedented attack on the Jewish state. That's when he explained that he urged Israel to exercise restraint, and in his words he "made it clear to the Israelis: don’t move on Haifa." Watch below:
According to Biden, he is pressuring the Israelis not to attack “Haifa”. Leader of the free world, ladies and gents pic.twitter.com/SeZJPfaJAS
— Jake Wallis Simons (@JakeWSimons) April 18, 2024
He then began immediately mumbling: "It’s Just Not, I Mean, Anyway..." - and trailed off, apparently losing his train of thought before moving on to speak about the Saturday Iranian ballistic missile and drone attack on Israel.
Biden was apparently intending to refer to Rafah in the comments, which is the Palestinian city in the far southern Gaza Strip, and not the third largest city in Israel. The Netanyahu government has for weeks said it is preparing to move militarily on the refugee-packed enclave.
The US is worried that an IDF ground offensive will trigger further regional escalation, including the potential for attacks on American bases from Iran-backed militias in Iraq and Syria.
But the obvious question is: will Israeli leaders really taking Washington's stance seriously when they hear the American president, or "leader of the free world," warning Israel not to attack a city in Israel?
If Biden can't distinguish Gaza's Rafah from Israel's Haifa, then certainly we can expect to see many more of these consequential gaffes if he gets into office another four years.
