President Joe Biden welcomed President Isaac Herzog of Israel to the White House on Tuesday, but attention quickly shifted from the importance of the allies' meeting to whether Biden would make it through the photo opportunity with members of the press intact.
As cameras rolled, Biden told the president of Israel that he doesn't remember "two-thirds" of the past 75 years since Israel was established. Most of those, of course, Biden served in the United States Senate.
Joe Biden says that he doesn't remember two-thirds of the past 75 years since the state of Israel was established. pic.twitter.com/O3o6IChSBu
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) July 18, 2023
Biden then proceeded to make remarks to his counterpart — a critical ally of the United States in the Middle East — while apparently reading verbatim from notes prepared for him in his lap, rarely making eye contact with President Herzog to whom he was speaking.
Does Joe Biden seem okay to you?pic.twitter.com/JHeQntZSW9
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) July 18, 2023
Someone please check on the President. Seriously. #Biden pic.twitter.com/GQ9otIxU02
— HARRISFAULKNER (@HARRISFAULKNER) July 18, 2023
When Biden wrapped up the public portion of his meeting with President Herzog, reporters in the Oval Office began hollering their questions. As is common, Biden ignored them but looked around the room with a half puzzled-half smirk.
Joe Biden looks shaken as he ignores questions from the press. pic.twitter.com/Ke0dNkZeDf
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) July 18, 2023
As Democrats on Capitol Hill such as Reps. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), Ilhan Omar (D-MN), and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) continue to smear Israel with false accusations — Jayapal, at least, has drawn the condemnation of fellow House Democrats for her comments she's since tried to walk back — it's all the more important for President Biden to lead by example in reinforcing the United States' relationship with Israel's government and people.
That, unfortunately, was not seen on camera during Biden's public meeting with President Herzog.
What's more, Biden and others in his administration have dodged questions or tried to brush off criticism for the president's failure to welcome Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the White House for a visit. Florida Governor and 2024 presidential candidate Ron DeSantis slammed the Biden administration for its snubbing of Netanyahu. "What this Biden administration has done, I think, has been disgraceful," DeSantis said. "The way they treat a strong ally like Prime Minister Netanyahu has been disgraceful."