If you’d like to read this issue on my website, click here! If you’d like to sign-up, and receive this in your inbox each week, click here! Read past issues here.
Good Friday Morning! I hope everyone is doing well from the multi-day severe weather outbreak in the eastern half of the United States. It was really something, stretching from the plains and upper midwest all the way down to the Gulf of Mexico and everywhere in between. In April alone, the United States reported 381 tornados (that will get adjusted as tornado damage is assessed). May is following right behind that number.
As we switch to summer, hurricane season is starting to ramp up, too. The National Hurricane Center has already tracked one minor tropical disturbance off the coast of Africa, far out in the Atlantic. It fizzled, but the ocean waters are already primed and ready to go. Saharan dust is choking off any more early-season development in the Atlantic for the time being. It’s a busy weather season ahead.
This week, I will cover Biden’s descent into madness over his Israel policy – links to follow.
Quick Hits:
- The Washington Free Beacon reports, “Day Before Biden Admin Announced It Would Withhold Weapons From Israel, It Issued Sanctions Waiver To Allow Arms Sales to Qatar and Lebanon.” It’s not just the contrast here in Biden halting arms to Israel while sending them to countries unfriendly to Israel. Qatar openly houses Hamas leadership. What is also notable about the inclusion of Qatar is that Biden’s brother, James Biden, was recently outed for having business relationships with Qatar. Like Hunter Biden, James Biden infamously drafts off of his brother’s fame to get open access to people and places. James Biden is also involved in a federal criminal investigation.
- One year ago, we were in the throes of the Bud Light boycott. Where do things stand now? Bud Light is still in trouble. Yahoo Finance reports, “Bud Light sales still falling as Modelo, Coors fight to keep their gains.” While Bud Light’s revenue is up, the volume of sales decreased. Bud Light is supporting revenue through increased prices. The story included this eye-popper of a quote, “We’ve lost a whole generation of hardcore Bud Light shoppers,” Bump Williams of Bump Williams Consulting told Yahoo Finance. “It will take us at least 10 years to try and recapture what we lost in one year.” Williams said AB InBev will have to “buy” shoppers. As Gen Zs grow up and turn 21, they’ll turn to brands that made an impression on them in their younger years.”
Where you can find me this week
Please subscribe, rate, and review my podcast on iTunes, Spotify, or Google Play — the reviews help listeners, and readers like you find me in the algorithms. Make sure to sign up for the Conservative Institute’s daily newsletter.
Biden Turns His Back On Israel – Conservative Institute
Biden’s New Low: Siding With Hamas – Conservative Institute
Biden Abandons America And Her Allies At Every Turn – Conservative Institute
Biden Pivots Away From Israel And Into Oblivion
For the last two weeks, the news from the White House regarding Israel got progressively more hostile. It’s no secret at this point that Biden opposes Israel wiping out Hamas. The pro-Iran wing of the Democratic Party holds too much sway, Biden is spineless himself (and has weird financial connections to this), and the left is beholden to the anti-Israel zealots on college campuses. However, the leaks of what the White House was doing were a little weird. It even reflected in my columns for the Conservative Institute, growing more harsh on Biden by the day.
A few days ago, I thought Biden had hit a new low. What I failed to grasp was that he’d stoop even further. And then, on May 8, the Associated Press dropped a bombshell. Biden announced on CNN that he wouldn’t give military aid to Israel if it launched a complete invasion of Rafah in Gaza. Note that Biden announced this just weeks after Congress passed an aid package for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan (we’ll return to this point). Pulling military aid away from Israel while it attacks a literal terrorist organization holding Americans hostage is a low all by itself. But that wasn’t all. The Associated Press added this color:
Biden signed off on the pause in an order conveyed last week to the Pentagon, according to U.S. officials who were not authorized to comment on the matter. The White House National Security Council sought to keep the decision out of the public eye for several days until it had a better understanding of the scope of Israel’s intensified military operations in Rafah and until Biden could deliver a long-planned speech on Tuesday to mark Holocaust Remembrance Day.
Biden’s administration in April began reviewing future transfers of military assistance as Netanyahu’s government appeared to move closer toward an invasion of Rafah, despite months of opposition from the White House. The official said the decision to pause the shipment was made last week and no final decision had been made yet on whether to proceed with the shipment at a later date.
The timing of this is critical to understand. Biden began this plan in April but waited for two things to end. First, he waited to announce this until after Passover finished (April 22-30), one of the most important Jewish holidays. And then he waited until he gave a speech on Holocaust Remembrance Day, where he claimed to stand against antisemitism. One of those days finished up, Biden pulled the rug on Israel, sided with Hamas in its fake “ceasefire” news cycle, and announced no more military support.
John Podhoretz writes in Commentary that he’s spent the last few months defending Biden because he was, at least, good on Israel regarding policy. Israel was getting arms and military support, even if Biden’s rhetoric wasn’t great. That’s all gone:
That was then, this is now. That aid package he fought for? He’s now blocking much of it himself—and is promising to do worse in days to come. That support for Israel? He is now pursuing policies that are designed to keep Hamas alive. This long-time friend of Israel? At an incredibly critical moment, he is giving Barack Obama a run for his money as a singularly destructive American “ally.” We’re told the decision to act this way came last week but that Biden wanted to keep it quiet until he delivered his speech commemorating the Holocaust.
That disgraceful and two-faced effort to earn emotional plaudits from speaking strongly about the greatest historical tragedy of the Jewish people even as he was working to cripple the Jewish state suggests Biden possesses a level of chutzpah that would make even the man who kills his parents and then throws himself on the mercy of the court for being an orphan say “Now you’ve gone too far.”
It is one of the more bewildering, tone-deaf, and nonsensical pivots I can remember seeing from a President. Podhoretz concluded with much the same:
The radical journalist Ryan Grim put out a tweet that encapsulates the Biden catastrophe perfectly: “The irony is that Biden, after losing the support of everyone who opposed what Israel has been doing, will now lose the support of everyone who loves what Israel is doing.“
Israel’s cause is just. Hamas’s cause is evil. Biden has now made affirmative moves to keep Hamas alive. A moral reckoning will ensue, and so will a political reckoning. And so will the judgment of history itself.
Noting the conservative response is easy. What is notable is that Democrats are opposed, too. Sen. John Fetterman posted a screenshot of the story from CNN. He said of Biden’s pivot, “Hard disagree and deeply disappointing.“ Many other Jewish members of Congress and Democratic-leaning groups also spoke out.
There’s not much else to say on this point other than it is deeply disappointing. The United States is providing material and rhetorical support to Hamas, Iran, and enemies of America. This is the ultimate conclusion to the Obama pivot to Iran – strengthening enemies of America, Israel, and the West.
I want to return to the point I raised earlier on Congress and the recent aid package. House Speaker Mike Johnson was interviewed by Politico and described being blindsided by this pivot. He also called it a betrayal of the deal Biden cut over the Congressional aid package. I found his answer particularly revealing, and it’s worth quoting in full:
Johnson said that even before Biden’s comments last night threatening to cut off weapons to Israel, he was deeply concerned by reports that the U.S. had already done so.
“And my reaction honestly was: Wow, that is a complete turn from what I have been told even in, you know, recent hours,“ Johnson said. “I mean, 24 hours ago it was confirmed to me by top administration officials that the policy’s very different than what he stated there. So I hope that’s a senior moment.”
Johnson said he had been assured by Biden officials that the reports of a weapons cutoff were not accurate and did not violate his agreement with the president.
“I was in the SCIF having classified discussions with some top administration officials,“ he said, referring to a secure facility in the Capitol. “My concern was we got word about these, you know, this shipment of munitions being delayed. And that was a great concern to us because I got commitments from top administration officials before we passed the supplemental package for the aid to Israel that that would not happen.”
He added that he was told “in writing and verbally“ that there was “no delay in the delivery of weapons to Israel because it’s so desperately needed.”
Not satisfied with those guarantees from the Biden administration, Johnson decided to ask the Israelis.
“So yesterday, I talked with Prime Minister Netanyahu about it, and I wanted to get confirmation from him exactly what’s happening. And he described exactly what was happening before the news was confirmed,“ he said. “I went straight to the White House, and I said, ‘What gives? Somebody’s going to have to explain this to me, because it’s very different than what I was told.‘”
Johnson said the White House told him the delayed munitions were from “earlier weapons tranches“ and had “nothing to do with the supplemental package that you all passed.”
The confusion around the issue made Biden’s comments last night more surprising to him.
“I hope — I believe he’s off script,“ Johnson said. “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.“
Politico quotes the White House as saying, “nothing has changed,“ and no agreement was violated. Neither Johnson nor Congress will view it that way. Getting that legislation passed was a chore for everyone involved, and Biden is stepping on everything built during that process to target Israel.
As I see it, there are two ways this plays out. The first is the most obvious: Biden meant every word of what he said, and he will deny military aid to Israel. If that’s true, you can wave goodbye to any other aid packages to Ukraine, Taiwan, or anyone else. Biden burned his bridges in Congress by refusing to send aid that Congress authorized. Congress will not approve more assistance if it assumes Biden is lying about supporting anything.
If Biden won’t stick his neck out for Ukraine (denying them the ability to hit Russia’s oil and gas facilities), Israel, or Taiwan, why should Congress?
The second way this plays out is that the White House takes Johnson’s “senior moment“ fig leaf and claims Biden was “taken out of context“ in the CNN interview, and nothing is being delayed. The time to do this is on the upcoming Sunday political shows. The White House releases the aid, claims Biden didn’t mean that and tries to save itself politically.
Neither option is great, but it’s where things sit with this White House. The polling is clear: Biden has managed to triangulate the worst possible position. Everyone would rather he be red-hot or cold towards one position or another. The lukewarm towards both sides is infuriating and does nothing but put America in the worst possible spot.
Now, we get to see if the White House sticks to this absurd stance or follows the “Biden verbal vomit clean up on aisles 3“ playbook.
Links of the week
UNRWA staff stealing and selling humanitarian aid, Gazans report – UNWatch
The People Setting America on Fire: An investigation into the witches’ brew of billionaires, Islamists, and leftists behind the campus protests – Tablet Magazine
‘I Could Have Been Killed in There’ Two more Columbia custodians tell The Free Press about the night that left them ‘traumatized.’ Their union is now suing. – The Free Press
Inside the Campus Playbook To Build a Nationwide ‘Unity Intifada’ in Support of Hamas – Washington Free Beacon
A Yale Professor Wrote an Op-Ed About Anti-Semitism on Campus. The University Spent Over a Year Investigating Him. – Washington Free Beacon
Biden claims inflation was 9% when he came into office — when it actually was 1.4% – NYPost
Squad Rep’s YouTube Page Is a Conspiracy Theorist’s Dream – The Daily Beast
The Tinder Inquisition: ‘Before we go any further. . . are you a Zionist?’ – The Free Press
US probe finds widespread sexual misconduct at FDIC – Reuters
X/Twitter Thread(s) of the week
How the “NBA on TNT” Changed One Young Boy’s Life.
Satire of the week
Drake Drops New Track Inviting Kendrick Lamar Out To Coffee So They Can Clear Things Up – Onion
Dad Spends Entire Vacation Asking How This Many People Out At Coffee Shops On Weekdays – Onion
Worm Disgusted To Find Itself In Politician – Babylon Bee
Kristi Noem Has Political Career Put Down – Babylon Bee
Out of Podcasts? Here’s How to Eavesdrop on Other People’s Conversations – Reductress
Trump Brags His Brain Worms Are Still Alive and Very Strong – The Hard Times
Crash Bandicoot Once Again Asked to Put on Shirt or Leave 7-Eleven – The Hard Drive
Thanks for reading!