On Tuesday, President Joe Biden gave a bizarre response to a journalist asking about an Israeli hostage deal, prompting backlash on social media.
The 81-year-old president’s comments came during a meeting with Israeli President Isaac Herzog at the White House, where the pair discussed the ongoing Israel-Hamas war and how to address the remaining hostages being held by the terrorist group.
Neria Kraus, a reporter for Israel’s Channel 13, prompted the bizarre comment by asking: “President Biden, do you think we can get a hostage deal by the end of your term?”
Instead of giving a coherent response about the likelihood of a hostage deal, Biden muttered: “Do you think that you can get hit in the head by the camera behind you?”
Kraus shared the clip of the odd exchange in a post on X, attempting to defend Biden by claiming that he was commenting on “the number of cameramen in the room.”
I asked President Biden if he thinks that he can get a hostage deal done by the end of his term. He answered, commenting on the number of cameramen in the room: “do you think that you can get hit in the head by the camera behind you?” pic.twitter.com/B3DCJoHdaw
— Neria Kraus (@NeriaKraus) November 12, 2024
Despite facing allegations of violating the law for previously altering the transcript of Biden’s infamous “garbage” insult against Trump supporters, the White House once again edited Biden’s remarks in the transcript of the exchange to make it sound less bizarre.
“Do you think you can keep from getting hit in the head by a — a camera behind you?” Biden said, according to the White House transcript.
QUESTION: President Biden, do you think we can get a hostage deal by the end of your term?
PRESIDENT BIDEN: Do you think you can keep from getting hit in the head by a — a camera behind you? pic.twitter.com/JjD0pSIVJW— Matt Viser (@mviser) November 12, 2024
Biden’s bizarre comments quickly went viral on social media, prompting mockery and backlash.
“Huh? weird,” PunchBowl News co-founder Jake Sherman responded.
huh? weird. https://t.co/oCFtWNWWFE
— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) November 12, 2024
“If Trump ever said anything like this to a reporter, it would be the top story that the media would be talking about for days. Absolutely disgusting,” popular X account @LeftismForU argued.
If Trump ever said anything like this to a reporter, it would be the top story that the media would be talking about for days.
Absolutely disgusting.— Leftism (@LeftismForU) November 12, 2024
“Biden unburdened by what has been,” The Washington Examiner’s Christian Datoc joked.
Biden unburdened by what has been https://t.co/OG6hDRqhQv
— Christian Datoc (@TocRadio) November 12, 2024
“Are we still pretending this man is sane enough to lead this country?” CEO Michael J. Morrison asked.
Are we still pretending this man is sane enough to lead this country?
— Michael J. Morrison (@OfficeOfMike) November 12, 2024
“What a complete a—,” Fox News host Lawrence Jones wrote.
What a complete ass. https://t.co/FEsp3VnlxL
— Lawrence Jones III (@LawrenceBJones3) November 12, 2024
“This man has jello for brains and was still a better candidate than Kamala,” commentator Dave Rubin responded.
This man has jello for brains and was still a better candidate than Kamala. https://t.co/nNGk64vDXa
— Dave Rubin (@RubinReport) November 12, 2024
“If Trump would have said that, the MSM would be in full melt down mode and drafting articles of impeachment,” another user argued.
If Trump would have said that, the MSM would be in full melt down mode and drafting articles of impeachment
— sólo la verdad (@BinaryOneOrZero) November 12, 2024
Following his bizarre response, Biden delivered pro-Israel remarks, claiming that his commitment to Israel is “ironclad.” He then introduced Herzog, who spoke about the remaining 101 hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza and confirmed that bringing them home was a top priority, to which Biden agreed.
