President Joe Biden created a stir after his SOTU address when he was caught on a hot mic telling some members of Congress that he had told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that they need to have a “come to Jesus” moment over the war in Gaza. On Friday, Biden seemed angry when reporters attempted to ask him about the remark and refused to answer any questions. But yesterday, apparently feeling the pressure to clear the air, he attempted to justify his comments during an interview with Jonathan Capehart on MSNBC. He didn’t deny saying it, but he claimed that it was “just a Delaware expression” and that Netanyahu wasn’t put off by it. That makes about as much sense as most of the things Biden says these days, meaning practically none at all. (NY Post)
President Biden admitted to making an awkward hot-mic comment about having a “come to Jesus meeting” with Benjamin Netanyahu — and said the Israeli Prime Minister is “hurting Israel” by not doing more to protect Palestinian civilians.
Speaking with MSNBC’s Jonathan Capehart in an interview Saturday, Biden insisted that the puzzling remark he was recorded saying after his State of the Union speech was just a Delaware expression.
“What I meant was it’s an expression used in the southern part of my state, meaning a serious meeting. And it was — I’ve known Bibi for 50 years and he knew what I meant by it,” Biden said, after angrily dodging questions about the comment the day prior.
In a rare moment of clarity, Biden clearly seemed to know he was saying something that he shouldn’t. While revealing the conversation to Senator Michael Bennet, he inserted the phrase “Don’t repeat this, but…” before an aide said, “Sir!” and pulled him aside. He then declared that he was “on a hot mic.”
As is so often the case, nothing that Biden attempted to claim in this explanation makes sense. First of all, the phrase “Come to Jesus moment” is not in any way unique to southern Delaware. It appears in English literature around the globe and has since the middle of the 19th century. It’s a reference to Christian revivalism and urges people to turn away from the devil and save their mortal souls. In the early 20th century, newspapers described the garb of preachers using the phrase, such as a “Come to Jesus collar.”
Bibi Netanyahu probably was gracious enough to let the comment pass because he is an artful politician, but that doesn’t mean that the remark wasn’t an insulting blunder. Describing a “come to Jesus” moment to a Jew is about as tone-deaf as you can get. The Jewish faith respects Jesus as a powerful prophet, but not as the savior and the Son of God. That’s basically the defining difference between Christianity and Judaism. Of course, Joe Biden has already made his views on this topic clear by failing to strongly condemn the pro-Hamas, antisemitic chaos erupting around his own country.
Biden isn’t ready to back down, however. (Or at least his handlers aren’t ready to let him.) Just yesterday he reiterated his “red line” for Israel, saying, “We can’t have another 30,000 dead Palestinians.” A more charitable person might almost feel some sympathy for Biden at this point. He’s caught between a rock and a hard place. After the October 7 Hamas terror attack, he came out strongly in support of Israel, correctly assuming that the majority of Americans would feel the same way. But now, facing a tight election where the polls currently suggest that he’s losing, Biden’s team knows they can’t afford to bleed off support from the pro-Hamas wing of their base which has turned out to be more numerous and vocal than most of us expected.
The problem is that Biden can’t get away with eating his cake and having it also. This is an “either-or” situation. You either support Israel’s goal of destroying Hamas and removing a deadly future threat or you support allowing Hamas to live to attack another day. Following Israel’s current course will inevitably result in more deaths of Gazans who don’t wear Hamas uniforms, though most of them support the terrorists’ cause. I realize it’s easier for me to say that because I don’t have to worry about maintaining the support of a small army of college students waving swastikas around, but this really shouldn’t be that tough of a call for Biden. I’d have a lot more respect for him if he simply stood on his principles and continued to offer his unvarnished support for Israel even if it costs him some votes at the ballot box. Supporters of terrorism shouldn’t be deciding American elections or White House policy.