Biden Jokes About Running Over Reporter Who Asks If She Can Question Him About Israel
President Joe Biden caused a bit of a stir Wednesday when he jokingly told a journalist to step in front of a car when she tried to ask him a question about Israel.
The president was visiting a Ford plant in Dearborn, Michigan, where he was seated behind the steering wheel of the company’s new F-150 Lightning truck, which he was test driving.
White House pool report:
— JM Rieger (@RiegerReport) May 18, 2021
"Your pool made an unscheduled stop … The pool is standing behind cones at the landing strip for 'our safety.’ Asked if Biden was driving, Jen Psaki said 'we’ll see’. Then president Biden appeared driving fast in a grey-ish f-150 lightning truck." pic.twitter.com/skWDerTXGZ
While he was seated, a journalist alongside the driver’s side window requested Biden’s permission to ask a question about the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Gaza Strip, which is controlled by Hamas.
“No, you can’t,” Biden said, “not unless you get in front of the car as I step on it. … I’m only teasing.”
The exchange came as Biden told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a phone call he expects a “significant de-escalation” Wednesday “on the path to a ceasefire.”
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Netanyahu, for his part, seemed to reject that request from the president. He said Israel is “determined to continue this operation until its aim is met,” adding, though, that he “greatly appreciates the support of the American president.”
The prime minister told ambassadors Wednesday there is no exact timeline for an end to the engagement with Gaza or Hamas.
“We’re not standing with a stopwatch,” Netanyahu said. “We are taking care of the operation’s objectives. We are engaged right now in forceful deterrence, but I have to say, we don’t rule out anything. We hope we can restore quiet; we hope we can restore it quickly. I want to say that we’re doing that while doing our utmost to avoid civilian casualties.”
Former Vice President Mike Pence is also weighing in on the situation in the Middle East. In a new editorial for National Review, Pence is blaming the Biden administration for the escalation between Israel and Gaza.
“Israel is enduring the worst outbreak of violence in at least seven years,” wrote Pence. “A direct result of the weakness shown by the Biden administration from its first day in office. Many Americans witnessing the recent bloodshed in Israel are perplexed by how quickly violence erupted after years of calm.”
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