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Joe Biden sat down for an interview with a mainstream national news outlet, which isn’t all that unusual. And while the clear intent of the conversation with CNN’s Erin Burnett was to draw a contrast with Donald Trump on the economy, the headline was what the president said about Israel.
“If they enter Rafah, they haven’t entered Rafah yet, but if they enter Rafah, I will deal with the city, which has historically been used to deal with Rafah. We’ve made it clear that we won’t supply the weapons that have been used for this purpose. We’re going to address that issue,” Biden said. “We’re going to continue to ensure Israel’s security in terms of Iron Dome and the ability to respond to attacks… But that’s just wrong. We’re going to provide the weapons and shells used by the Israelis. there is no.”
Biden’s comments come amid protests across the United States over Israel’s bombing of Gaza, a movement that has divided Democratic opinion. Biden continued to pledge support for Israel and condemned the rise of anti-Semitism on college campuses. But he told Barnett that after the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel, he told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to “make the same mistakes we made in America” after 9/11. .
“We’ll help you focus on taking out the bad guys, but then after Gaza, we had to think hard about what happens after this is over,” Biden told Netanyahu. said. Who will occupy Gaza? ”
Biden’s comments about the weapons suspension were quickly criticized by Republican congressional leaders, but were overshadowed by other parts of the interview.
Compared to his predecessor, Mr. Biden has given relatively few one-on-one sit-down interviews with national news organizations, and the New York Times has complained that he avoids them altogether. . In a recent interview with The New Yorker, Biden said last fall: 60 minutesBut the White House’s strategy depends, in part, on local media and smartless Podcast and recent live appearance with Howard Stern.
Biden is not the first president to turn to other types of media, as it has become commonplace among communications experts to talk about the need to appeal to voters “where they are.” That’s for sure. But there’s still something a little unpredictable about interviews with national news outlets. Mr. Burnett’s questions were far more pointed and direct than what Mr. Biden is likely to receive on late-night talk shows.
During his visit to Milwaukee, Mr. Biden tried to make the case that he was effective at creating jobs, but Mr. Trump was unable to do so.
Biden has created “more than 15 million jobs” since taking office, he said, adding, “He has never succeeded in creating jobs, and I have never failed.” His visit to Wisconsin was to promote a new Microsoft factory in the same location where President Trump once promoted a later downsized Foxconn facility.
President Trump “talked about this being the eighth wonder of the world,” Biden said. “When has he ever done what he said he would do?”
But Barnett noted that despite the president’s claims of a strong economic record, “voters trust President Trump on the economy by a wide margin.” Opinion polls say so, and part of the reason may lie in the numbers. ”
She added: “Of course, you know many of these things. If you look at the monthly costs before the pandemic, the cost of buying a home in the United States has doubled. Real incomes, adjusted for inflation, have actually declined since taking office. Economic growth was much weaker than expected last week, and consumer confidence, perhaps unsurprisingly, is near a two-year low. Are you worried that you are running out of time to turn things around?”
Biden cited a survey showing that 65% of Americans think the economy is in good shape, even though 65% of Americans think the country is in bad shape.
“The polling data has been wrong all along,” Biden said. “Everyone please do a poll on CNN. How many people do you have to call to get one response?”
But Barnett pointed to the impact of inflation, including in areas such as housing. Pointing to his administration’s efforts to tackle housing costs and junk fees, so-called “shrinkflation,” Biden said this is “really worrying people, and for good reason.”
“When I started this administration, people were saying there was going to be an economic collapse,” Biden said. “We have the strongest economy in the world. Let me say it again, in this world.”
Biden’s more powerful moment in the interview came after Burnett returned from commercial leave. She watched a video of her standing and chatting with Biden. This time it was about Trump and his threat not to accept the results of the November election.
“I promise you we won’t,” Biden said, adding that world leaders were concerned that democracy would be at risk if Trump were to win.
“This man is not a Democrat with a small d,” the president said.