THE US President Joe Bidencampaigning for a second term, will try to rally Americans behind the defense of Israel and Ukraine, a risky bet that could backfire from his opponents and alienate some of his base.

Biden will address Americans today at 8:00 p.m. (local time, 03:00 a.m. Friday) from the Oval Office on “the U.S. response to Hamas’ terrorist attacks against Israel and Russia’s violent attack against Ukraine ».

After returning from Tel Aviv, where he made a lightning trip yesterday, the 80-year-old Democrat believes he can convince Democrats and Republicans in Congress to financially support the two warring countries.

Before his visit to Kiev in February, never before had an American president gone into a war zone that was not under the control of the US military. Biden did it twice, with Ukraine and Israel.

100 billion

According to a source with knowledge of the discussions, White House wants to ask Congress for a whopping $100 billion on Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan and the immigration crisis on the border with Mexico.

Although Republicans appear wary of providing military aid to Ukraine, they have been the first to call for massive support for Israel, and have long wanted Washington to take a tough stance on stemming immigration flows and influence. of China.

But Republicans are busy infighting and the Congress of the world’s biggest power is paralyzed as the right wing of the party tries to impose a member of its own on the presidency of the House of Representatives.

In the face of this chaos, Biden wants to appear as a man of action who takes initiatives, even as polls show Americans worry about his age and dynamism.

But with this move, the American president is also taking a risk: if he does not manage to gather a sufficient number of votes in Congress, where his party only controls the Senate, the US is at risk of fiscal paralysis, the infamous “shutdown”, on November 17.

“Masterful”

Will he be able to win over some moderate Republicans at a time when his rival Donald Trump wields enormous influence in the party?

Biden’s position on Israel was praised even by some in more conservative circles. Richard Haas, a former diplomatic adviser under George W. Bush, described the American president’s speech in Tel Aviv as “masterful”.

But the potential involvement of Lebanon’s pro-Iranian Hezbollah in the war between Israel and Hamas will immediately prompt right-wing accusations of Biden’s leniency toward Tehran.

Florida Governor Ron DeSandis, a candidate for the Republican nomination, estimated that in the event of the provision of US $100 million in aid to the Gaza Strip: “Hamas will use it for terrorist purposes.”

New voters

There are also quite a few members of the Democratic left wing who are asking Biden to distance himself more from the government of Israel and show more compassion for Palestinian civilians in the face of the relentless bombing of Gaza.

On Platform X progressive MP Cory Bush called for an “immediate truce”, as did the approximately one hundred protesters who gathered yesterday, Wednesday, in front of the Congress building following an appeal by Jewish Voice for Peace.

Young American voters generally do not feel the same commitment to Israel’s security that many politicians of Biden’s generation do.

According to a poll conducted this week by Quinnipiac University, voters under the age of 35 are overwhelmingly (51%) hostile to providing arms to Israel, in contrast to older voters.

In 2020, Biden won the presidency mainly thanks to the mobilization of young people.