House Speaker Mike Johnson Says Biden Had A ‘Senior Moment’ When Threatening To Withhold U.S. Shipments Of Weapons To Israel

House Speaker Mike Johnson criticized President Joe Biden for threatening to stop U.S. shipments of weapons to Israel if they launch a major invasion of Rafah, a southern city in Gaza, saying it was “a senior moment.”

Biden made this threat during a CNN interview with anchor Erin Burnett.

“I want to ask you about something happening as we sit here and speak, and that, of course, is Israel striking Rafah,” Burnett stated. “I know that you have paused – Mr. President – shipments of 2,000 pound U.S. bombs to Israel due to concern that they could be used in any offensive on Rafah. Have those bombs- those powerful 2,000-pound bombs – been used to kill civilians in Gaza?”

“Civilians have been killed in Gaza as a consequence of those bombs and other ways in which they go after population centers,” he responded. “And I made it clear that if they go into Rafah – they haven’t gone in Rafah yet – if they go into Rafah, I’m not supplying the weapons that have been used historically to deal with Rafah, to deal with the cities, to deal with that problem.”

“We’re gonna continue to make sure Israel is secure in terms of Iron Dome and their ability to respond to attacks like – came out in the Middle East recently,” Biden declared. “But it’s just wrong.” 

“We’re not going to – we’re not going to supply the weapons and the artillery shells used – that have been used,” Biden said.

The administration stated that the White House halted the shipment of weaponry in early May due to the concern that it would be used in Rafah. The shipment contained 1,800 2,000-pound bombs and 1,700 500-pound bombs.

They noted that Biden’s administration was “especially focused” on ceasing Israel’s use of 2,000-pound bombs in its offensive in Gaza, based on the impact they have on dense urban areas.

Gilad Erdan, the country’s ambassador to the United Nations, said the U.S. decision was “very disappointing” and “frustrating.” In an interview with Israeli Channel 12 TV news, he suggested that the move was inspired by the domestic political pressure on Biden.

Speaker Johnson indicated that Biden’s remarks violated what he believed to be promises from the president to the former’s support for the $95 billion emergency foreign aid package.

“I hope — I believe he’s off script,” the House speaker told Politico. “I don’t think that’s something that staff told him to say. I hope it’s a senior moment because that would be a great deviation in what is said to be the policy there.”

Johnson said that when asked if he felt betrayed by Biden’s threat, he did.

“And my reaction honestly was, ‘Wow, that is a complete turn from what I have been told even in recent hours,'” he recounted. “I mean, 24 hours ago, top administration officials confirmed to me that the policy’s very different from what he stated there. So I hope that’s a senior moment.”

The White House angrily responded to the House speaker’s suggestion that Biden had been having a “senior moment.”

“That’s simply false. In fact, senior administration officials had already made multiple public statements about Rafah similar to the president’s, including that we are also ensuring Israel gets every dollar appropriated in the supplemental,” a White House spokesperson, Andrew Bates, mentioned in a statement responding to Johnson’s interview.

“For example, hours before the president’s interview, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin gave congressional testimony that aligned with him,” Bates added.

During Biden’s State of the Union address in March, television viewers could see that Johnson shook his head and grimaced when the president mentioned Republicans wanting to put Social Security on the “chopping block.”

The House speaker also rolled his eyes in response to Biden’s claim that he would sign a border security bill if given one and laughed at the claim.

In late April, Johnson delivered a speech about antisemitism at Columbia University, which was met with boos and heckling from pro-Palestinian protesters in the audience.

He offered a stern message on the university’s campus for school administrators and protesters after days of anti-war demonstrations, arrests and campus closures at U.S. colleges.