President Biden praised Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer's rebuke of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday, amid his own increasingly public criticism of Israel's handling of the war against Hamas in Gaza.
Biden backed his fellow Democrat one day after Schumer, the senior senator from New York, said that Netanyahu had "lost his way by allowing his political survival to take the precedence over the best interests of Israel" and called for elections to replace him.
"He made a good speech," Biden told reporters of Schumer during an Oval Office meeting with Ireland's prime minister. "I think he expressed serious concerns shared not only by him but by many Americans."
Biden acknowledged that Schumer had given the White House advance notice of the remarks he intended to make, multiple outlets reported.
Following months of largely unflinching public support for Israel, Biden last week turned a critical eye toward its prime minister.
After his March 7 State of the Union address, Biden was caught on a hot mic saying that he and Netanyahu were due for a "come to Jesus meeting."
Asked about the remark in an MSNBC interview two days later, Biden did not shy away from the sentiment, saying that Netanyahu was "hurting Israel more than helping" by not doing more to minimize civilian casualties in Gaza and up humanitarian aid.
Israel's war against Hamas began on Oct. 7 when the terror group launched a surprise attack on Israel, indiscriminately killing some 1,200 people and abducting about 240 hostages back to Gaza.
Israel responded with a large-scale air and land campaign aimed at rooting Hamas out of Gaza. According to Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry, more than 30,000 people have been killed in Gaza.
Civilians represent the majority of those killed in both cases.
A U.S. intelligence report delivered earlier this week claimed that Netanyahu's "leadership viability" was "in jeopardy" amid the war. Israeli officials strongly dismissed the notion.
Netanyahu, meanwhile, vowed Monday to forge ahead with the war, despite Biden's concerns.
