Biden made plenty of news this week in his interview with CNN’s Erin Burnett. He warned Israel he wouldn't transfer offensive weapons if its military proceeds with a full-scale invasion of Rafah. He promised that Donald Trump won't accept the outcome of the 2024 election. And he said Trump, if elected, would "wipe out" many of Biden's policy achievements, including allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices. But maybe the biggest news Biden made in that interview was his admission that the United States has supplied weapons that have killed civilians in Israel's war against Hamas. Burnett: I know that you have paused, Mr. President, shipments of 2,000-pound U.S. bombs to Israel due to concern that they could be used in any offensive on Rafah. Have those bombs, those powerful 2,000-pound bombs, been used to kill civilians in Gaza? Biden: Civilians have been killed in Gaza as a consequence of those bombs and other ways in which they go after population centers. On the one hand, Biden's admission is common sense: Israel’s campaign has killed thousands of civilians, and the U.S. is Israel's largest arms supplier. On the other hand, it's not every day that an American president admits that U.S.-supplied weapons have killed innocent civilians. And it raises a host of questions that I hope to explore on this Sunday's "Meet the Press," when I’ll talk to Secretary of State Antony Blinken. I’ll also have interviews with Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. What is Biden’s red line? Is the U.S. complicit in these civilian deaths, as Biden seemed to suggest? If so, why is the Biden administration still sending both offensive and defensive weaponry to Israel, as NBC News reported? Or did Biden's comments undermine Israel's war against Hamas? (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country is prepared to act alone if the U.S. cuts off weapon supplies.) What does it mean for the negotiations to achieve a cease-fire? And — on top of it all — will the Israel-Hamas war be a top-tier issue for voters in November? Be sure to tune in for answers on Sunday. |