As Joseph Biden’s US presidency comes to an end, many on social media this week are saying that his legacy boils down to one thing: his active role in Israel’s fifteen-month war on Gaza, which has been widely defined as a “genocide” by human rights organisations, international bodies and scholars.
Biden’s last day as president, on 19 January, is also the first day of the planned Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal that was reportedly pushed to the finish line by the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump, though both Biden and Trump took credit for the deal.
This has raised more significant criticism of Biden’s role in Israel’s bombing campaign on Gaza, with the US providing $17.9bn in military aid since 7 October 2023 after the Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel and the subsequent war.
His unfaltering support for Israel led to the infamous nickname given by pro-Palestinians and social media users: “Genocide Joe”.
I think the demographic to focus on are the people who are just falling out of liberal mainstream and who haven’t formed strong political opinions of their own. They’ve already come to realize that libs are gaslighting them, and that the system isn’t working on their interest because they see their standard of living collapsing while mainstream media keeps telling them they’re living in the best economy ever. Such people become open to new ideas and can be reasoned with. As the economic collapse continues to progress, the liberal mainstream will necessarily shrink as increasing numbers of people start becoming disillusioned with the system.