Back in 2019, when then-President Donald Trump was being impeached over allegedly suggesting to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that he would withhold promised military aid and aid money if certain steps were not taken, then-potential Democrat candidate attacked Trump on Twitter for the move, saying he ought to be impeached for it. Now, that comment is coming back to haunt Biden.
As background, Trump told Zelensky that he thought there was possible corruption involving Burisma and Hunter Biden, and that he thought the Bidens needed to be investigated. That call came shortly after he temporarily withheld aid to Ukraine, and an official in the Trump Administration claimed that Trump told Zelenskey the aid’s release was contingent on Biden being investigated. Trump and his administration flatly denied that allegation.
It then led to impeachment, and Biden, posting about the situation on X, wrote, “President Trump withheld Congressionally appropriated aid to Ukraine unless they granted him a political favor. It’s the definition of quid pro quo. This is no joke—Trump continues to put his own personal, political interests ahead of the national interest. He must be impeached.”
Now that has come back to haunt Biden, as critics allege that Biden’s claim to CNN on Wednesday, May 8, that he would withhold ammunition aid to Israel, ammunition that had been both promised and approved by Congress, if Israel decides to launch a full-scale ground offensive into Rafah, amounts to pretty much the same thing and thus is deserving of impeachment.
For example, one writer for RedState, a conservative online outlet, wrote that Biden’s 2019 tweet was an endorsement of his own impeachment. “Joe Biden endorses his own impeachment,” Bonchie said in a quote tweet. Replying, one commenter pointed out the apparent double standard, saying, “It’s (D)ifferent when they do it.”
Similarly, The Federalist’s Sean Davis wrote that Biden must be impeached for the Rafah move, saying, in a quote tweet of Biden’s 2019 tweet, “Joe Biden withheld Congressionally appropriated aid to Israel unless they granted him a political favor. It’s the definition of quid pro quo. This is no joke—Biden continues to put his own personal, political interests ahead of the national interest. He must be impeached.”
Further, conservative personality Steve Guest wrote, in yet another quote tweet of Biden’s 2019 post, “Joe Biden is withholding Congressionally appropriated aid to Israel unless they grant him a political favor. It’s the definition of quid pro quo. “If they go into Rafah, I’m not supplying the weapons that have been used historically to deal with Rafah.”
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Also joining in was Republican Scott Jennings, who appeared on CNN to discuss the matter and argued, when sparring with David Axelrod, “I think they support our ally. And maybe he doesn’t. They’re going to recall a time when we impeached the president of the United States, for withholding military aid authorized by Congress from Ukraine, $400 million. That was the basis of the impeachment. This is congressionally authorized military aid to our ally, and he is withholding it for political purposes.”
Watch him here: