Biden and Trump betray anti-Palestinian bias in presidential debate

When US President Joe Biden and his rival in the upcoming presidential election, Donald Trump, took the podium on June 27 (Thursday) in a widely-watched debate, Americans must have been glued to their TV and mobile screens.

But the rest of the world was also watching.

This was the first of two presidential debates. During the event, contestants share their domestic and foreign policies and how they intend to deal with pressing issues.

One of the biggest crises facing the world is Israel’s war in Gaza in which more than 37,600 people, most of them women and children, have been killed. The US is Israel’s most important ally and has been arming Tel Aviv despite facing criticism and protests.

Naturally, the world wanted to know what the two leaders had to say about the fate of more than 2 million Palestinians trapped in Gaza, where food shortage is so severe that international air organisations fear starvation.

Here’s what they said about Gaza

Biden did not even use the word “Palestinian”.

His Republican rival Trump did something worse. He used the word, but only as a slur.

“[Biden] has become like a Palestinian. But they don’t like him because he is a very bad Palestinian. He is a weak one,” Trump said while criticising the US president for not letting Israel “finish the job” in Gaza.

Perhaps the only time the Palestinians were mentioned in a favourable tone was when the debate moderator, Dana Bash, asked Biden what “additional leverage” he’d use to end the Gaza war. The United States wields significant influence on Tel Aviv as its main diplomatic, financial and military backer.

In response, Biden laid the entire blame for the war, currently in its 266th day, on Hamas.

He insisted Hamas was the “only one who wants the war to continue”, even though the resistance group agreed to a version of the ceasefire deal back in May.

“Everyone from the United Nations Security Council, straight through to the G7, to the Israelis and Netanyahu himself have endorsed the plan I put forward,” Biden said, referring to his three-phase plan involving the release of remaining hostages, Israeli military withdrawal from Gaza, a surge in aid and a path to a permanent end to hostilities.

Biden’s claim lacks authenticity given that the Israeli premier threw the US-backed proposal into doubt as recently as June 23. The Associated Press reported last Sunday that Netanyahu would only be willing to agree to a “partial” cease-fire deal, which would not end the war.

Biden said his administration was providing Israel with “all the weapons they need and when they need them”. The “only thing” Biden has denied Israel is 2,000-pound bombs that “don’t work very well” in populated areas, he said.

Even that claim was dubious at best as online news platform Axios reported hours before the presidential debate that the White House had in fact cleared part of the arms shipment to Israel that included the 2,000-pound munitions.

Biden prided himself on mobilising world support for Israel when Iran launched a missile attack against the Zionist state in mid-April.

“No one was hurt. No one Israeli was accidentally killed. And it stopped. We saved Israel. We are the biggest producer of support for Israel than anyone in the world,” he said while failing to offer even a single sentence of condemnation on Israel’s conduct of war in Gaza where more than 10,000 civilians are believed to be buried under the debris of bombed homes.

Biden’s “rock solid” support for the Israeli state dates back to his time in the US Senate. With a total of $4.2 million, he was the biggest recipient in the history of donations from pro-Israeli groups during his 36 years in the upper chamber of Congress.

But changing demographics seem to have pitted the 46th US president against a large section of the US population. Public polls show more Americans support humanitarian aid for Gaza rather than military aid for Israel.

A separate Gallup survey released in March found a majority of Americans disapprove of Israel’s military actions in Gaza, which marks a stark shift since last fall.

Biden’s poor handling of the crisis in the Middle East can possibly tip the scales in favour of the Republican nominee in the November presidential election. Fewer than one in five Democrats say they approve of Israel’s actions, down from 36 percent in November.

Trump claimed during the debate that Israel would have “never been invaded in a million years by Hamas” because his administration (2017-2021) blocked its access to funding.

“Because Iran was broke with me. I wouldn’t let anybody do business with them. They ran out of money. They were broke. They had no money for Hamas. They had no money for anything. No money for terror,” the former president said, implying a stronger Iran during the Democratic rule in the US continued to funnel money to Hamas.

“That’s why you had no terror at all during my administration. This place, the whole world is blowing up under [Biden],” Trump said.

His claim about “no terror” in 2017-2021 lacks substance. Excluding unsuccessful attacks and those where officials doubt motive, there were as many as 220 terror incidents in the United States of varying severity during Trump’s presidency.

Trump, who holds a slight lead over incumbent Biden in the presidential race, is no friend of the Palestinians. Worried more about Israel “losing the PR war” than the loss of more than 36,000 Palestinian lives, the former president has unreservedly criticised anti-war protesters demonstrating on university campuses across the United States.

More than five in every 10 likely Republican voters support the US calling for a permanent ceasefire and a de-escalation of violence in Gaza. The percentage of likely Democratic voters in favour of a ceasefire is even higher at 83 percent.

However, bipartisan support for an immediate halt in Israeli aggression in Gaza hasn’t translated into diplomatic action on part of the US, which continues to back Israel unconditionally in the bloodiest war of the 21st century.