People Are Calling Out US President Joe Biden For Talking About Gaza While Casually Eating Ice Cream
Biden has been called out for being insensitive and tone deaf, considering Israel’s attacks have killed more than 29,000 Palestinians in Gaza and its blockade has pushed millions of others to the brink of famine.
US President Joe Biden has drawn widespread criticism for casually discussing the war in Gaza while enjoying an ice cream cone.
The president made the comments during his visit to a Van Leeuwen ice cream parlor near New York City, following an interview with talk show host Seth Meyers on his Late Night program on On Monday, Feb. 26.
With a mint ice cream in hand, Biden said he hoped there would be a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas by the end of the weekend.
“My national security advisor tells me that we’re close, we’re close, we’re not done yet. My hope is by next Monday we’ll have a ceasefire,” Biden said in response to a reporter’s question.
He was later filmed chatting to a group of customers and saying, “The President of the United States will be known for two things: Ray-Ban sunglasses and ice cream.”
The 81-year-old president’s remarks on the war in Gaza while enjoying a scoop of ice cream have been widely called out for being insensitive and tone deaf, considering Israel’s attacks have killed more than 29,000 Palestinians in Gaza and its blockade has pushed millions of others to the brink of famine.
Mairav Zonszein, an Israeli-American journalist and commentator, called Biden’s remarks “completely irresponsible” and “tone-deaf” on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“Nothing says ‘we’re taking this seriously’ like talking about a war that has killed ~30,000 people with an ice-cream cone halfway to your mouth,” Gregg Carlstrom, the Economist’s Middle East correspondent wrote.
Biden’s remarks come after reports of potential developments in indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas, which may include providing humanitarian aid to Gaza and the release of more hostages held in Gaza, according to the BBC.
Qatar, along with Egypt, has been facilitating the negotiations but said that no deal has been finalized as of yet.
