Trump Is Doing a Good Job of Making Biden Look Bad

But when it comes to Israel, Biden has only himself to blame. Of all the black marks on his presidency, his steadfast backing of an Israeli prime minister who treated him with contempt as tens of thousands were killed in Israeli bombardments is the worst. Biden and his foreign policy team owe some responsibility for the horrific situation in Gaza now—and Trump’s current trip through the Middle East serves as a reminder that they could have done more.

Not that Trump’s Israel policy has been better—far from it. He’s done nothing to push back as Israel pushes Gaza to the brink of starvation by cutting off all aid, done almost nothing to advance a ceasefire, and has repeatedly said he would like the U.S. to take over the territory and essentially turn it into a colony. (That Marco Rubio reportedly chastised Israel for the current humanitarian situation in Gaza on Thursday is a sign of how bad that humanitarian situation is, not a shift in administration policy.) But at least Trump has shown a willingness to sideline Netanyahu, who played Biden like a fiddle during his last two years as president. Imagine if Biden had given Netanyahu the cold shoulder, and more importantly withheld military aid, toward the goal of ending the slaughter of Gaza? It would have been the morally courageous thing to do, and for all we know, given how the November election turned out, it might have been the politically expedient thing to do too.

What makes Democrats envious of Trump is that he simply doesn’t give a shit, which is a powerful attribute that can be used for good or ill. Even when Trump does the right things—as in Syria and Iran—it’s never entirely clear he’s doing them to promote peace or prosperity. His primary motivation in most of his dealings in the Gulf still, as ever, is promoting himself and his businesses, particularly a shady (even by his standard) cryptocurrency venture being hawked by his sons. But much of Biden’s foreign policy was too slow, too old-fashioned, too afraid of controversy. “I don’t like Trump’s motivations for lots of things he does,” Rhodes told Vietor. “But one thing you will say is he’s not tied to this constant fear of some bad-faith right-wing attacks or stupid Blob-type, ‘We don’t do this, we must leverage the sanctions for blah blah blah.’ No! Sometimes you just have to try something different.” Democrats have something to learn from Trump, after all—and these days they have nothing to lose, either.