Ric Grenell was critical Tuesday on Newsmax of President Joe Biden’s first remarks on the turmoil over anti-Israel protests on college campuses, highlighting what he saw as a glaring omission regarding hostages held by Iranian-backed Hamas terrorists.
Grenell, acting Director of National Intelligence and ambassador to Germany in the Trump administration, told “Rob Schmitt Tonight” he was dismayed over what he perceived as a failure by Biden to acknowledge the plight of the hostages, including Americans, held for 199 days by Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
“The whole reason why we’re in this war is because the terrorist organization is funded by the money that Joe Biden gave to the Islamic Republic in Iran,” Grenell said. “That organization, that regime, funded terrorists who went out and captured and took as hostages people who were at a music festival. We’re still trying to find our hostages including Americans, and this is what Israel is trying to do.”
Biden’s remarks came during his first public comments Monday on anti-Israel protests on college campuses such as Columbia, New York University and Yale. He condemned the actions of demonstrators while also emphasizing understanding of the suffering of Palestinians, Politico reported.
“I condemn the antisemitic protests,” Biden said. “That’s why I have set up a program to deal with that. I also condemn those who don’t understand what’s going on with the Palestinians.”
Grenell criticized Biden’s stance of equating both sides in the conflict, stating, “They are not very good people on both sides of that argument.”
Regarding Biden’s condemnation of anti-Israel protests, while also expressing empathy for Palestinians, Grenell accused the president of wavering between pro-Israel and pro-Hamas groups. He contrasted this with what he saw as Donald Trump’s clarity on the issue.
“Donald Trump has two messages and these messages, and both of these work with pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian groups,” Grenell said. “This would never have happened if Donald Trump were president – would never have happened.
“When you fund the Islamic Republic of Iran, you’re going to get terrorism. We didn’t do that in the Trump administration. We froze them out.”
Grenell’s critique adds to the ongoing debate surrounding U.S. policy toward the Israel-Hamas conflict, highlighting diverging viewpoints between the Biden administration and its predecessor.
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