Well, as Matt pointed out last year, the honeymoon with White House National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby standing up for Israel was bound to come to an end. During Tuesday's press briefing, Kirby indicated something has come out of those meetings that Biden officials have had with activists regarding the administration's handling of the Israel-Hamas war. Such meetings have even been with terrorists. The activists have been demanding a ceasefire, despite how such a narrative primarily helps Hamas, as Kirby himself acknowledged last November. Further, it was Hamas that broke the ceasefire that had been in place before the October 7 attack, and again more recently when there had been a temporary pause last November.
As we've covered, Biden gave a rather odd answer on Monday when asked by reporters about his timetable for a ceasefire, as he seemed more interested in enjoying the ice cream cone he was distracted by.
Biden initially said "well I hope by the beginning of the weekend," about when it would start, before he changed his response to "I mean the end of the weekend." He then added that "at least my national security advisor tells me that we're close. My hope is by next Monday, we'll have a ceasefire."
REPORTER: "Can you give us a sense of when you think that ceasefire will start?"
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) February 26, 2024
BIDEN (confused): "Well I hope by the beginning of the weekend. I mean the end of the weekend. At least my national security advisor tells me that we're close." pic.twitter.com/lY2ffcg3Jh
When Kirby was asked about that exchange on Tuesday, though, he didn't have much to offer. When a reporter pointed out that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was "was quite surprised by the president’s comments about his expectations that there would be a ceasefire by Monday," and thus wanted to know why Biden would say such a thing, Kirby didn't have a sufficient answer.
"I can’t speak for the surprise that foreign leaders have or don’t have with regard to things that we’re saying," he said, trying to frame his response as how Biden has been "staying completely up to speed" and "shared with you some context" and "his optimism." Kirby also made clear "we don't have [a deal] right now," though he believes "we are getting closer."
REPORTER: Netanyahu said he was "surprised" by Biden's comments on the possibility of a ceasefire in Gaza "by Monday" — so why did Biden say that?
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) February 27, 2024
JOHN KIRBY: I can't speak to that pic.twitter.com/a9OpcPebln
Israel is our ally in the Middle East, and the Israel-Hamas conflict is one of just several international crises that have taken place during Biden's time in office. This administration is not only incompetent on policy, but it looks like there are serious miscommunication issues here as well, which could have foreign policy and national security ramifications as well.
During CNN's panel discussion on Tuesday night as the Michigan primary results came in, David Axelrod made the curious observation that Biden "was going out on his own on that one" when he took the question from reporters about a ceasefire while eating his ice cream cone.
Even when Kirby did have more information to provide during the briefing, his answers weren't all that comforting.
In response to a reporter asking "are you acting on any of what they're saying" when it comes to conversations with activists in Dearborn, Michigan, Kirby answered that they "absolutely" are and they "take these conversations very seriously."
"Without getting into specific details or disclosing some of the things that we’ve been hearing, we--we are taking them on board. And we are--we are willing to adjust the--the way we’re approaching the conflict and the way we’re talking about the conflict to--to reflect those concerns. But we’re taking them very seriously," Kirby added.
KIRBY: "We are willing to adjust the way we're approaching the [Israel-Hamas war] and the way we're talking about the conflict" pic.twitter.com/LhEvHQX6Hp
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) February 27, 2024
While Kirby stressed he could "only speak about the national security implications here," what he had to say suggested that they were certainly willing to address concerns from the those activists in Michigan.
"The National Security Council has been a part and parcel of these conversations, and we’re coming back from them, we feel, informed, more educated, and certainly more understanding of some of the concerns that are out there in the Arab community and--Arab American community. And, again, we’re--we’re taking that on board, and we’re doing--and we’re acting on it," he shared.
Kirby says the Biden administration is acting to implement changes to Israel-Gaza war policy based on conversations with activists in Michigan
— Katie Pavlich (@KatiePavlich) February 27, 2024
The United States is looking to play a role in conflicts in other ways. On Tuesday afternoon, Axios reported that "U.S. wants Israeli written assurances on using U.S. weapons in Gaza by mid-March," with those assurances applying to following international laws, something Hamas certainly has had trouble following.
It looks like leftist pressures have been working. "The assurances are now a requirement under a memorandum issued earlier this month by President Biden. While it doesn't single out Israel, the new policy came after some Democratic senators expressed concern over the Israeli military campaign in Gaza. If the assurances aren't provided by the deadline, U.S. weapon transfers to the country will be paused," the piece mentioned. Key to requiring such assurances, the report mentions, is Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), who, as we covered last month, is one of the Democrats in favor of a permanent ceasefire.
As mentioned above, Tuesday also brought us the Michigan primaries, and Biden won handily. There was, however, a significant amount of voters who selected "uncommitted" as a form of protest against how the president has been handling the Israel-Hamas conflict. Such an effort has led to Democrats in disarray, especially Michigan, as Matt has covered, with those like Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Sen. Debbie Stabenow support the president, while Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan's 12th Congressional District supports those rebelling against Biden.
With an estimated 98 percent reporting, the percentage who voted "uncommitted" is at 13.3 percent, accounting for 101,049 votes.
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