VICTOR JOECKS: Trump impeached for what Biden is doing

Five years ago, Joe Biden called for his own impeachment. He didn’t realize it at the time.

On Wednesday night, Biden said the United States wouldn’t supply Israel with bombs and other offensive weapons if it goes into Rafah. That’s the city where the remaining Hamas brigades are hiding. As I write, Israel looks poised to begin its ground invasion of the city.

If Israel goes “into Rafah, I’m not supplying the weapons that have been used historically to deal with” cities such as Rafah, Biden said. He specified that he would withhold offensive “weapons and artillery shells.” Biden has already paused shipments of heavy bombs to Israel.

That sound you hear is Hamas cheering. Biden is backstabbing Israel, our steadfast ally in the region. He’s trying to pressure Israel to not wipe out a terror group that murdered around 1,200 Israelis less than a year ago. He’s decreasing the chances that any remaining hostages are returned alive, a group that includes five Americans. He’s betraying his past promises.

“We are going to make sure you have what you need to protect your people, to defend your nation,” Biden said in October. “For decades, we’ve ensured Israel’s qualitative military edge.” He added, “The United States isn’t going anywhere either. We’re going to stand with you.”

So much for that. Making Israel look weak increases the likelihood of a regional conflict. Israel must invade Rafah. But it still faces a threat from Hezbollah on its northern border. Iran, the terrorist puppet master, still seeks its destruction. Israel’s strength, not diplomacy, keeps its enemies at bay.

Biden is a moral coward and a geopolitical imbecile whose dementia grows increasingly obvious. He can’t even read off his teleprompter correctly or walk confidently across the lawn.

But there’s something else. By his own standard, Biden is committing an impeachable offense. He wants Israel to do him a favor — not invade Rafah — for domestic political reasons. He’s trying to appease Muslim voters in Michigan. If he loses there, he likely loses re-election.

In 2019, Biden tweeted Donald “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.”

And Trump was impeached. In 2019, Democrats impeached him for “conditioning official United States Government acts of significant value to Ukraine” on its publicly announcing an investigation into the Biden family. That’s from the first article of impeachment. Trump “solicited the interference of a foreign government, Ukraine, in the 2020 United States Presidential election.” He engaged in a “course of conduct for corrupt purposes in pursuit of personal political benefit.”

The parallels are obvious. Biden wants a quid pro quo from a foreign country — bombs for not invading Rafah — to gain a personal political benefit in the 2024 presidential election.

But Democrats and the national mainstream media won’t care. Standards are clubs with which they beat their political enemies, not natural principles to which they adhere. Just look at how Biden has turned his back on Israel.

Victor Joecks’ column appears in the Opinion section each Sunday, Wednesday and Friday. Contact him at vjoecks@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4698. Follow @victorjoecks on X.