Claim: President Joe Biden began his farewell address by taking credit for the Israel-Hamas ceasefire.
Verdict: Mostly False. While a ceasefire agreement was reached, Biden’s own State Department admitted that President-elect Donald Trump’s team was “absolutely critical” in getting a deal accomplished.
For months, the Biden administration failed to reach a ceasefire, even under the threat of enormous domestic political pressure from the progressive anti-Biden “Uncommitted” movement. Although Trump’s team reportedly spearheaded the deal, which comes five days before he assumes office once again, Biden claimed credit on Wednesday night.
“After eight months of non-stop negotiation, my administration, by my administration, a cease-fire and a hostage deal has been reached by Israel and Hamas,” Biden said hours after news of the deal.
“This plan was developed and negotiated by my team and will be largely implemented by the incoming administration. That’s why I told my team to keep the incoming administration fully informed because that’s how it should be,” he added.
Yet State Department spokesman Matthew Miller lauded the Trump team’s involvement just hours earlier, crediting them with completing the deal.
“When it comes to the involvement of President-elect Trump’s team, it has been absolutely critical in getting this deal over the line,” Miller said.
Israeli outlet Haaretz notably reported Monday that the Biden administration allowed Steve Witkoff, Trump’s incoming special envoy for the Middle East, to take the lead on negotiations last week:
A week before Trump’s inauguration, Jerusalem already sees a change in the rules of the game that has broken the deadlock in the hostage negotiations. Unusually, the outgoing Biden administration has let Witkoff lead the process, on the grounds that any obligations the United States undertakes will be incumbent on Trump, not on Biden.
Witkoff is a Jewish real estate investor and developer who is close to Trump. He doesn’t have the background of the kind of people who usually fill diplomatic roles. Witkoff isn’t a diplomat. He doesn’t talk like a diplomat, he has no interest in diplomatic manners and diplomatic protocols,” says a senior Israeli diplomat who spoke on condition of anonymity. “He’s a businessman who wants to reach a deal quickly and charges ahead unusually aggressively.
Miller noted Wednesday the unusual nature of having envoys from both an outgoing and incoming administration at a major foreign policy negotiation.
“I don’t know if it’s unprecedented to have envoys from an outgoing and an incoming administration sitting at the same table negotiating a ceasefire agreement of this kind, but if it’s not unprecedented, it certainly unusual,” Miller said.
“And we, of course, thank the Trump team for working with this on this ceasefire agreement. We think it’s important that they were at the table,” he added.
Jesus Christ is King
