Biden to Give Second Formal Oval Office Speech of His Presidency

President Biden will give a big prime time speech tonight at 8 PM Eastern to discuss the U.S. response to Hamas’ terrorist attacks against Israel and Russia’s ongoing war of aggression against Ukraine, White House officials said Wednesday.

The President’s major foreign policy speech is expected to link Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan in his speech.

Biden is expected to use the speech to make a public appeal for support and funding to buttress global democracy with support for Ukraine and Israel, according to CNN’s reporting based on two administration officials.

He will also repeat his request funding for the Mexico/U.S. border that Congress has been ignoring, bringing the total north of $100 billion for emergency funds for the Southern U.S. border, Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan, according to multiple reports.

Republicans have been, sans evidence, trying to tie Hamas’ terrorist attack on Israel to the Mexico border in a way to politically capitalize on the terrorist attack, and yet have previously refused to give the administration what they requested to fortify the border and are currently incapable of doing so until they elect a speaker. If Biden does ask for all of this funding together after Republicans have been making the case publicly that the border is tied to an attack in Israel, Republicans will have backed themselves into a corner. Biden is very adept at letting Republicans do just that and then using big speeches to tie the bow.

The President arrived at the White House at 12:51 AM Thursday morning from his trip to Israel, after a terrorist attack killed more than 1,300 innocent civilians, including at least 31 U.S. citizens.

Biden’s speech in Israel was met with widespread praise, including from embattled far-right Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said, “Mr. President, for the people of Israel, there’s only one thing better than having a true friend like you standing with Israel, and that is having you standing in Israel. Your visit here is the first visit of an American president in Israel at a time of war. It is deeply, deeply moving. It speaks to the depth of your personal commitment to Israel. It speaks to the depth of your personal commitment to the future of the Jewish people and the one and only Jewish state. So, I know I speak for all the people of Israel when I say: Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you for standing with Israel today, tomorrow, and always.”

And on a more personal note, Diplomatic Correspondent for Haaretz Newspaper Amir Tibon shared, “I just got out of a meeting with President Biden. He invited a dozen Israelis who had been impacted by the war in the most personal way, to see him. I will write more tonight, but for now what I can say is: President Biden loves Israel, loves the Israeli people, and has our back.”

Yesterday, Biden announced $100 million in humanitarian funds to Gaza and the West Bank.

On his trip, Biden also addressed the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where more than one million people have fled their homes. The President was able to secure a commitment from Egypt’s Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to let up to 20 trucks through the Rafah Crossing for humanitarian assistance, but Sisi would not agree to allow a lot of people out. While 20 trucks isn’t a lot, it’s better than zero trucks. The roads need to be patched first, so the trucks might not be through until Friday. The hardened resistance to giving more speaks to the probability that this war will be ongoing and brutal.

The President has now visited two war zones, Ukraine and Israel, during his first term in office, as he continues to battle rising global autocracy and terrorism.

The growing crises around the globe are the ultimate test of this president, but also a gut-punch comparison when imagining how the former president would be handling them. Trump would be aiding Russia in its expansionist war against Ukraine by not helping Ukraine and taking out his personal grievances on Israel as he already did when he attacked Netanyahu for being caught unprepared due to a massive intelligence failure and praised Hezbollah “very smart.”

When the world is on fire, it helps to have a real statesman like Joe Biden at the helm. But even Biden, with all of his experience in foreign policy, is being tested in front of the world.