CBS News White House correspondent Ed O’Keefe told White House national security spokesman John Kirby on Wednesday that President Joe Biden’s answers to foreign policy questions can be confusing.
The president said Israel is losing global support because of its “indiscriminate bombing” in Gaza and called on Israel to change its government. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected Biden’s proposal in a Tuesday statement and vowed to now allow history to repeat itself regarding the Israel-Palestine conflict.
Kirby said the president is outspoken about U.S. foreign policy and has been vocal about urging Israel to be “more careful and more deliberate” limit the number of civilian casualties in the Gaza Strip. (RELATED: ‘Are They Extremists?’: Doocy Asks KJP If Pro-Palestine Protesters Are Held To The Same Standard As ‘MAGA Republicans’)
“You just said he speaks for foreign policy—” O’Keefe began.
“Of course he does, of course he does,” Kirby interjected
“But he said yesterday that there were indiscriminate attacks, which to the rest of the world is a war crime,” O’Keefe continued. “So why isn’t the United States not saying that that’s what it is being carried out?”
“The president is speaking to his concerns about making sure we’re seeing the results that Israel has claimed is their intent, which is to reduce civilian casualties. That’s what he was talking about,” Kirby said.
The remark came as he has received growing pressure from members of his party to call for a ceasefire and reduce his support for Israel.