Republicans have taken aim at President Biden in the wake of Iran’s unprecedented attack on Israel, claiming that the president’s “non-deterrence” has only emboldened Iran.
“So much for President Biden telling bad guys ‘No’ to actually be an effective deterrent. Every time he says ‘No,’ they do it,” wrote Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., in a publication in X. Saturday.
Graham’s comments after Iran launched a barrage of more than 300 missiles and drones against Israel on Saturday in an apparent response to Israel’s role in an airstrike that killed a senior Iranian official at the country’s embassy in the Syrian capital from Damascus last week.
Israeli defense forces and allied militaries had been preparing for the possibility of an Iranian retaliatory attack since the attack, and Israel claimed that approximately 99% of Iranian weapons fired at the country had been intercepted by its sophisticated systems. defense and its military allies in the region. .
BIDEN CALLS FOR A G7 MEETING IN RESPONSE TO IRAN’S ‘BLANKET’ ATTACK
President Joe Biden speaks at the National Action Network Convention remotely from the South Court Auditorium of the White House, Friday, April 12, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Biden warned on Friday that an Iranian attack on Israel was possible over the weekend and told reporters his message to the Islamic Republic was “Don’t do it.”
But Iran carried out its brazen attempt anyway, something Republicans blamed on the president’s “weakness.”
“Biden’s approach to Iran and the Middle East is backwards,” said Rep. Nancy Mace, RS.C. wrote in X. “Now that we risk entering World War III, the United States must respect Israel’s commitment to democracy. The president must stand firm and stop coddling Iran immediately.”
“Foreign policy is not complicated. When you indicate that you might withdraw support for an ally like Israel, you decrease deterrence. When you decrease deterrence, the enemy feels emboldened to attack,” Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas, said in X after the attack.
Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) listens to testimony during a House Select Committee on Climate Crisis hearing on June 14, 2022, in Washington, DC (Nathan Howard/Getty Images)
IRAN OFFERS ISRAEL AN EXIT RAMP TO ‘CONCLUDE’ ATTACK AFTER LAUNCHING MISSILES AND DRONES AGAINST THE JEWISH STATE
Biden’s “No” comment was criticized by former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo even before the Iranian attack, with the former Trump administration official arguing that Biden’s response was “really dangerous” during an appearance on Fox News.
“Well, he said, ‘No’ several times, and ‘No’ is not national security policy,” Pompeo said. “It’s not even a deterrent.”
Former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks during the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in National Harbor, Maryland, on Friday, March 3, 2023. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Responding to the attack, during a rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday, former President Donald Trump said the United States has shown “great weakness” under the Biden administration in the lead-up to the attempted attack on Israel.
“I want to say, ‘God bless the people of Israel.’ They’re under attack right now and that wouldn’t have happened if we were in office,” Trump said.
IRAN CLAIMS TO FOLLOW DRONE LAUNCH IN ISRAEL WITH BALLISTIC MISSILE SHOT
Trump, who was well known during his term for issuing stern warnings to American adversaries on social media, also took to his own social platform, Truth Social, to repost an all-caps Tweet from 2018 in which the then-president warned to Iran about serious consequences for threatening the United States.
President Donald Trump arrives to speak at the White House Thursday, Nov. 5, 2020, in Washington, D.C. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
«To Iranian President Rouhani: NEVER, EVER, THREATEN THE UNITED STATES AGAIN, OR YOU WILL SUFFER CONSEQUENCES LIKE FEW THROUGHOUT HISTORY HAVE SUFFERED BEFORE. WE ARE NO LONGER A COUNTRY THAT WILL ANSWER YOUR DEMENTED WORDS OF VIOLENCE AND DEATH. BE CAUTION!” Trump said at the time.
For his part, Graham argued that such an attack on Israel would not have happened if Trump were still in office.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
“This would not have happened under a Trump presidency, and I hope the American people are closely following how dangerous the world has become over the last three years,” Graham said on X.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
