Jon Favreau Pans Biden For Refusing to Stop Israel ‘Killing and Starving Innocent People’: Makes Him ‘Look Weak’

Jon Favreau

Former Barack Obama speechwriter Jon Favreau said President Joe Biden doesn’t “deserve credit” for being “privately enraged” about seven aid workers being killed in Gaza.

The seven aid workers were trying to get aid into Gaza through the World Central Kitchen organization, which has provided tens of millions of hot meals inside of Gaza while they’ve dealt with Israeli strikes. The aid workers coordinated with IDF before their trip, but were killed in a strike that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called “unfortunate.” The prime minister also claimed it “happens in war,” a line that has earned plenty of pushback, including from World Central Kitchen founder José Andrés.

On Wednesday, Favreau said Biden looks “weak” in response to a Politico report suggesting, based on senior officials involved, that Biden will not change his policy when it comes to Israel, but he expressed private outrage over the civilian deaths in Gaza. White House spokesperson John Kirby noted over 200 aid workers have been killed in Gaza amid the Israel-Hamas war. Thousands more civilians have been killed.

“The President doesn’t get credit for being “privately enraged” when he still refuses to use leverage to stop the IDF from killing and starving innocent people,” Favreau, now a co-host on the Pod Save America podcast, wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “These stories only make him look weak.”

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said on Tuesday that Biden called Andrés after the aid workers were killed and vowed he would “make clear” that aid workers must be protected.

In a Wednesday New York Times op-ed, Andrés called for major reforms in Israel’s handling of the war. Netanyahu has dismissed calls for a ceasefire, insisting the war will not end until Hamas is eliminated. Hamas, which U.S. officials have said purposefully use civilians as human shields, attacked Israel on Oct. 7, killing more than 1,000 and kidnapping hundreds.

The president has resisted growing calls for a ceasefire, but acknowledged Israel needs to do more to prevent civilian casualties. Many Democratic voters have taken to putting out protest votes in Democratic primaries where they refuse to vote for Biden or anyone else. In Michigan, more than 100,000 people voted “uncommitted” over the president as a protest of his Israel policies.