Spin Cycle: Biden’s Stance on Israel

For those who don’t spend their Sunday mornings glued to the television — and their Sunday afternoons attempting to dig through a week’s worth of network and cable news media spin — The Daily Wire has compiled a short summary of what you may have missed.

Sunday’s media spin was centered on the ongoing war between Israel and the terrorist group Hamas — and President Joe Biden’s attempts to play both sides as he struggles to keep his 2024 campaign from internal combustion. Once again, even the Left-leaning media outlets brought in Republicans to do the heavy lifting when it came to criticizing Biden’s recent actions — specifically his threat, after promising “ironclad” support to Israel, to withhold military aid already promised and approved by Congress if Israel invaded Rafah.

On ABC’s “This Week,” host Martha Raddatz spoke with House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-TX) about the situation, pushing back when he argued that Biden’s unilateral decision went against the will of Congress.

Without claiming directly that she supported Biden’s decision to withhold certain bombs even after the aid package was passed, Raddatz pushed back on McCaul and argued that even “precision weapons” might be too much if the risk of civilian casualties was too high.

McCaul pointed out that any civilian casualties in Rafah should be laid at the feet of the Hamas terrorists who used them as human shields and then stole the humanitarian aid that was sent to Gaza to help them recover.

House Foreign Affairs chair Michael McCaul tells @MarthaRaddatz that he is worried that Pres. Biden is defying “congressional intent” by holding back weapons intended for Israel that have been passed by Congress. https://t.co/Uxyc1uI9Tt pic.twitter.com/2h8f5fHvMr

— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) May 12, 2024

McCaul went on to say that Biden’s actions sent a very clear message not just to allies like Israel but also to adversaries like China and Russia: “You can’t count on the United States. You can’t trust the United States.”

“If our allies and friends see this as a trust issue,” he said, arguing that Hamas leadership had racked up a win with Biden’s help, and they had done to without firing a single shot. “I think Russia and China are right there looking at this too.”

Pres. Biden withholding weapons to Israel sends a message “that you can’t count on the United States,” GOP Rep. Michael McCaul says.

“If our allies and friends see this as a trust issue…I think Russia and China are right there looking at this too.” https://t.co/j4bBzd7RDh pic.twitter.com/eVDIfs6sTj

— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) May 12, 2024

On “Face the Nation,” CBS anchor Margaret Brennan spoke with Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR) about what he called a “de facto arms embargo” implemented by Biden against Israel.

“Israel’s goal is to destroy Hamas, which committed the worst atrocity against Jews since World War II. Hamas’s goal is to survive. If they do — if Israel does not go into Rafah and destroy Hamas in Rafah, Hamas will survive,” Cotton said, rebuffing Brennan’s claims that Biden was only talking about not sending the heaviest bombs to Israel.

President Biden has imposed a “de facto arms embargo on Israel,” GOP @SenTomCotton claims after the administration halted a shipment of large bombs to Israel over concerns of a possible invasion into Rafah. pic.twitter.com/yNgYyK2yq3

— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) May 12, 2024

On CNN’s “State of the Union,” Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) joined anchor Dana Bash to defend Biden’s precarious position.

Murphy claimed that Biden was not “paying attention to the politics” surrounding the Israel-Hamas war, and was taking actions that put him more in line with what the American people wanted, “squarely where the middle of the country is.”

“I don’t mind the fact that the president isn’t paying attention to the politics.”

Sen. @ChrisMurphyCT tells @DanaBashCNN that President Biden is ignoring “the extremes of the debate” around the Israel-Hamas war and says Biden is “squarely where the middle of this country is.” pic.twitter.com/b9hO3eLrBV

— State of the Union (@CNNSOTU) May 12, 2024

Murphy went on to say that he supported Biden’s decision to withhold certain items from Israel — despite Congressional approval of the total aid package — if a ground invasion of Rafah was launched.

“President Biden is learning the mistakes of U.S. military campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan,” Murphy said, arguing that Israel would never defeat Hamas or any other terrorist organization “with military force alone” — and claiming that a heavy military campaign in Rafah would likely make Hamas even stronger.

“President Biden is learning the mistakes of U.S. military campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan.”

Sen. @ChrisMurphyCT tells @DanaBashCNN that he supports President Biden’s threat to block military aid if Israel launches an offensive in Rafah. pic.twitter.com/VKxojI6yqM

— State of the Union (@CNNSOTU) May 12, 2024

On the other side of the coin was Senator J.D. Vance (R-OH), who told Bash that Biden’s overstep was also a misstep: “America is not good at micromanaging wars in the Middle East.”

“America is not good at micromanaging wars in the Middle East.”@JDVance1 sounds off on President Joe Biden’s strategy on the Israel-Hamas war in an interview with @DanaBashCNN. pic.twitter.com/EFCu9aDzmX

— State of the Union (@CNNSOTU) May 12, 2024

NBC’s “Meet the Press” covered the full spectrum of opinions on the topic — beginning with Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT), who said that Biden should stop all aid going to Israel.

“Israel has … gone to war against the entire Palestinian people, and the results have been absolutely catastrophic,” he told anchor Kristen Welker.

WATCH: Sen. @BernieSanders (I-Vt.) says Israel should “not be receiving another nickel in U.S. military aid.”

Sanders: “Israel has … gone to war against the entire Palestinian people, and the results have been absolutely catastrophic.” pic.twitter.com/ySUpPIbxbO

— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) May 12, 2024

Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) defended Israel and the aid that Congress had signed off on sending, arguing that the Jewish state should be allowed to employ any tactical means necessary to ensure their survival.

“Why did we drop two … nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki? To end a war we couldn’t afford to lose. … That was the right decision,” Graham said. “Israel, do whatever you have to do to survive as a Jewish state.”

WATCH: Sen. @LindseyGrahamSC compares the Israel-Hamas war to WWII:

“Why did we drop two … nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki? To end a war we couldn’t afford to lose. … That was the right decision. … Israel, do whatever you have to do to survive as a Jewish state.” pic.twitter.com/Wo5wUQaYpF

— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) May 12, 2024

Secretary of State Antony Blinken defended Biden’s position to Welker, claiming that even a full-scale military onslaught in Rafah would not be enough to wipe out Hamas. He then complained that he was not satisfied with Israel’s plans to minimize civilian casualties — or for what they planned to do once the war was over.

WATCH: @SecBlinken says the U.S. has not seen “credible” plans from Israel on mitigating civilian deaths in Rafah — or for what happens when the war ends.

Blinken: “Even if [Israel] … takes heavy action in Rafah, there will still be thousands of armed Hamas left.” pic.twitter.com/V1qRVlnYBW

— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) May 12, 2024

On “Fox News Sunday,” guest host Benjamin Hall asked Senator Rick Scott (R-FL) to weigh in on the message Biden’s actions were sending to Hamas.

Scott’s reply was simple: he said that Biden, in the hopes of shoring up support ahead of November’s presidential election, had embraced “the Hamas wing” of his own party.

WATCH: @SenRickScott reacts to Biden pausing weapon shipments to Israel over its plan to invade Rafah. pic.twitter.com/VN956wYoV8

— Fox News Sunday (@FoxNewsSunday) May 12, 2024

The only outlier on Sunday was, as usual, MSNBC’s “Inside with Psaki,” where the former White House Press Secretary kept her eye on … former President Donald Trump.

Psaki brought in Andrew Weissmann to handicap the ongoing hush money trial against Trump in Manhattan, and he argued that former Trump attorney Michael Cohen should handle himself — in his upcoming testimony — much in the same way that former porn star Stormy Daniels had.

“He just needs to be, frankly, like Stormy Daniels — which is smart, careful and unflappable,” he said. “On cross examination, she was humanized. And you saw just how effective she was.”

“He just needs to be, frankly, like Stormy Daniels – which is smart, careful and unflappable… On cross examination, she was humanized. And you saw just how effective she was.”
@AWeissmann_ on why Michael Cohen should emulate Stormy Daniels’s demeanor on the stand. pic.twitter.com/ss12iVzLA9

— Inside with Jen Psaki (@InsideWithPsaki) May 12, 2024

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