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Washington (CNN) — President Joe Biden told an interviewer he considers himself a Zionist who has also done “more for the Palestinian community than anybody” while calling for more aid to reach the Gaza Strip.
In a taped interview with Complex Networks’ Speedy Morman on “360 with Speedy,” Biden also said he was “1,000%” committed to staying in the 2024 race amid questions about his mental fitness after a disastrous debate performance last month. The interview was filmed on Friday, the day before the assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump and was published on Monday.
Biden also spoke extensively about the war in Gaza for the first time in weeks – with the bulk of his recent interviews being focused on the president’s age and capabilities to run the country after his shaky CNN debate performance on June 27.
Asked directly by the interviewer whether he is a Zionist, Biden said, “yes.” Biden has often described himself as such before and since the October 7 attack on Israel by Hamas. Some progressives have pushed the president to show more public compassion for the plight of Palestinians in the face of months of Israelis bombardments that have killed tens of thousands of people in Gaza, many of them using US munitions.
Biden seemed to anticipate that some factions would take issue with his description of himself as a Zionist.
“You don’t have to be a Jew to be a Zionist, and a Zionist is about whether or not Israel is a safe haven for Jews because of their history of how they’ve been persecuted,” Biden said
“Now, you’ll be able to make a lot of that because different people don’t know what a Zionist is,” he added.
The president also touted his efforts to get aid into the beleaguered enclave.
“I’m the guy that opened up all the assets. I’m the guy that made sure that – I got the Egyptians to open the border to let goods through, medicine and food,” Biden said. “I have been very supportive of the Palestinians, but Hamas, they’re a bunch of thugs.”
Prior to the attempt on Trump’s life, the focus of the 2024 race centered on whether Biden could survive serious questions from his party over his mental fitness.
Asked again if he was committed to staying on the ballot, Biden responded: “Unless I get hit by a train, yeah.”
The-CNN-Wire
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