Amid the escalation in West Asia after Iran's drone strike on Israel, "Genocide Joe" slogans targeting US president Joe Biden were raised at a public meeting by former president Donald Trump, who is set to take on Biden in the US election later this year. As the slogans at Schnecksville in Pennsylvania grew louder, Trump said, "They are not wrong. They are not wrong. He has done everything wrong."
"Genocide Joe" is a phrase used by pro-Palestine protesters to slam Biden for unconditionally backing Israel for its offensive against Gaza, especially in the aftermath of the October 7 attacks by Hamas. Over 33,000 Palestinians have been killed so far.
The slogan's use at a Trump rally and his endorsement of it is curious, to say the least. The Republican leader has unequivocally sided with Israel as far as the Palestine issue is concerned. In fact, in an interview earlier this month, he said Israel needs to "finish what they started" and "get it over with fast". "You've got to get it over with, and you have to get back to normalcy. And I'm not sure that I'm loving the way they're doing it, because you've got to have victory. You have to have a victory, and it's taking a long time," he said in The Hugh Hewitt Show.
The former US president defended his comments in an interview with Israeli newspaper Israel Hayom, in which he said Israel needed to "finish up" its war with Hamas and that the country was "losing a lot of support" among the world. "What I said very plainly is get it over with, and let's get back to peace and stop killing people. And that's a very simple statement. Get it over with. They've got to finish what they finish. They have to get it done," he doubled down.
Responding to Iran firing over 300 drones and missiles at Israel, Trump said at the Pennsylvania rally, "God bless the people of Israel. They are under attack right now. That's because we show great weakness."
The "weakness" remark was an apparent jab at his rival, Biden. The 81-year-old leader has publicly expressed "ironclad" support to Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu administration, but multiple reports in the US media say he is looking to de-escalate. With elections approaching, Biden is extra cautious and aware that his handling of the West Asia situation is being closely watched.
The attack on an Iranian embassy in Syria's Damascus, allegedly by Israel, and Tehran's drone strike response, has complicated the US's situation further. While Netanyahu has vowed a fitting response, a high-ranking US official has told news agency AFP that Biden has told the Israel Prime Minister that Washington won't provide military backing for any retaliatory action. "We would not be a part of any response they do. We would not envision ourselves participating in such an act," he said.
Iran has, meanwhile, warned that its response "will be much larger" than the drone strikes if Israel retaliates. Iran's armed forces chief General Mohammad Bagheri has told state media that it would target US bases too if Washington backs Israel's counterstrike.
