‘Is There Really a Red Line?’ Morning Joe Hosts Asks If Biden Will Do Anything About ‘Horrific’ Rafah Attack
The hosts of Morning Joe asked on Tuesday whether an Israeli strike in Rafah that killed at least 45 civilians crosses President Joe Biden’s “red line” for the country.
A site housing displaced Palestinians was struck by the Israeli military over the weekend. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called it a “tragic incident” on Monday and promised an investigation into the attack. Two Hamas militants were killed in the strike, but civilian casualties were not expected.
Jonathan Lemire called the attack “truly horrific” and said it put the president and the country’s policy on Israel’s war at an “inflection point.” Lemire argued the “red line” is currently “pretty vague.”
Willie Geist asked what exactly the “red line” means if the attack doesn’t cross it.
“If this doesn’t cross the red line, I guess the question could be asked by some, what does the red line mean? Is there really a red line?” he asked. “And if it has in fact been crossed in this case or will be crossed at some point in the future, what does that mean in terms of the United States’ willingness to support Israel or to withdraw some of its support? What is the red line at this point?”
Joe Scarborough earlier predicted increased tensions between Biden and Netanyahu, but also noted other countries including the United States are responsible for civilian casualties at times of war.
“I understand there is a red line there,” he said. “I am just making sure we’re not hypocritical suggesting that somehow what Israel is doing in warfare is different than what every other country does in warfare. That said, this obviously has to amp up tensions between Joe Biden and Benjamin Netanyahu.”
New York Times reporter Peter Baker argued Biden’s “red line” is “kind of fuzzy” in the wake of the Rafah attack and reported there’s been talk among some Biden administration officials that Netanyahu might be “trying to sabotage” the president’s reelection campaign.
“In their darker moments, certainly, you hear White House officials… wondering whether or not Netanyahu is really dealing on the up and up with President Biden and whether he is in fact trying to sabotage the president’s reelection campaign or whether he’s trying to preserve his own domestic political viability by using President Biden as a foil,” he said.
Biden previously threatened to withhold munitions from Israel if there is a full-scale invasion of Rafah.
In a March interview with MSNBC, Biden raised alarms about the thousands of civilian deaths caused by Israel’s strikes on Gaza in their effort to eliminate Hamas, but said there is a “red line,” but not one that would make him completely cut support.
“It is a red line, but I’m never going to leave Israel,” he said. “The defense of Israel is still critical. So there’s no red line [in which] I’m going to cut off all weapons so they don’t have the Iron Dome to protect them.”
“The defense of Israel is still critical,” President Joe Biden tells Jonathan Capehart. “But there’s red lines that if he crosses…cannot have 30,000 more Palestinians dead.” pic.twitter.com/0SAPJySAYS
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) March 9, 2024
Watch above via MSNBC.
