President Biden hosted Israeli President Isaac Herzog at the White House on Tuesday.
While Biden relied on the provided note card to navigate the discussions, his Israeli counterpart appeared at ease without such assistance, creating an unflattering visual contrast.
Biden seemed to be constantly looking down into his hands, mumbling incoherently like an unprepared schoolboy forced to give an oral report.
Although Herzog called the meeting “wonderful” when speaking to reporters as he departed the White House, as reported by NBC News, there were times during their discussion that it looked like he was just agreeing with Biden out of courtesy without really understanding what he was saying.
Watch:
Tensions between the U.S. and Israel reached new heights when President Biden openly criticized Prime Minister Netanyahu’s judicial overhaul. Adding to the strain, questions arose as to why Biden had not invited Netanyahu, the prime minister of one of our closest ally nations, to the White House.
In March, when asked whether he would be hosting Netanyahu at the White House, the president said unequivocably, “Not in the near term,” — a statement referred to by one opinion writer at the Jerusalem Post as a “verbal body blow against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.”
However, President Biden finally extended an invitation to Prime Minister Netanyahu during a recent phone call on Monday.
Twitter users were quick to point out Biden’s disinterested, half-hearted, and, frankly, half-asleep appearance at the meeting between the two leaders.
Greg Price wrote, “Imagine watching this video and then thinking to yourself ‘yep. I want four more years of that.’”
Fox News host Harris Faulkner wrote in mock panic, “Someone please check on the President. Seriously.”
https://twitter.com/HARRISFAULKNER/status/1681364896397525001
Benny Johnson made a not-so-subtle allusion to the latest cocaine scandal at the White House, tweeting, ” When there is no more cocaine in the White House.”
It’s easy to criticize Biden’s advisors for the tragic optics and missed opportunity to present a more polished image of the president during this crucial event.
But you can only work with the materials you’re given, and unfortunately for the White House staff, they have very little left to work with here.
Beyond the humor lies a more serious concern: The health and mental acuity of a nation’s leader are essential considerations, as they directly impact the ability to govern effectively and make vital decisions.
Biden’s inability to stay awake during a conference and off-the-cuff slights to our closest allies make for unnecessary political theater that consistently displays the country in an unflattering light. It also draws critical comparisons between him and other leaders, including his potential rival in the 2024 presidential election, Donald Trump.
According to NBC News, at the end of the conference, Herzog told reporters that Biden had “reiterated his ironclad commitment and his utter friendship and love of the state of Israel.”
We all sincerely hope that that was what Biden said, but since no one could really tell what he was saying half the time, we may never really know.
via unsilencednews
