On Thursday, Israel and Hamas agreed to a tentative cease-fire as the latest flare-up in the conflict lasted 11 days. And as CBS Evening News anchor Norah O’Donnell admitted, “the truce follows last-minute negotiations led by Egypt…” But ABC’s World News Tonight would have their viewers believe that it was President Biden’s feeble, “quiet diplomacy” that secured a moment of peace for the civilians on both sides of the war.
ABC’s deception on Biden’s foreign policy fumble started from the get-go as anchor David Muir delivered the opening teases:
Tonight, breaking news as we come on the air. Israel and Hamas agreeing to a cease-fire. President Biden, speaking just moments ago. After 11 days of relentless rockets and missile attacks, a truce now set to take effect just a short time from now. President Biden, who put increasing pressure on Benjamin Netanyahu, Biden talking just a short time ago.
At no point was there any utterance of Egypt during the entire newscast. But Muir made sure took make it seem as though Biden was the only one doing any work. “President Biden talking with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu again late today. We knew yet President Biden told him in a call that he wanted to see a significant de-escalation in the Israeli operation,” he touted.
He added: “Moments ago, President Biden before the cameras, saying he supported Israel's right to defend itself, but also saying Israelis and Palestinians equally deserve to live safely and securely.”
Correspondent Matt Gutman continued the dishonest spin from all the way in Israel. “The decision following days of intense international pressure to end the violence, especially from President Biden,” he boasted, “who the White House said yesterday told the Prime Minister in their fourth call in a week he expected to see a significant de-escalation that day.”
Following Gutman’s report, Muir talked about how Biden had spoken with “Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a number of times during the course of this conflict,” and how “this was a delicate dance over how much the White House would make public in recent days and how much they left to what they call ‘quiet diplomacy.’”
Up next was senior White House correspondent Mary Bruce, who lauded how this was supposedly “the first big foreign policy test for this president and Biden walked a fine line throughout.”
Bruce even tried to pass off Biden’s inaction as some kind of 4D chess maneuver:
Now, White House sources I've talked to feel that this all shows Biden's approach to diplomacy working. He laid low in those first few days, trying to rely heavily on that quiet, intensive, behind-the-scenes diplomacy, and then upped the public pressure on Israel in just the recent days.
“He and Prime Minister Netanyahu have a relationship; they understand how each other work. Biden took an increasingly serious tone,” she added. “I am told, and made it clear to Israel that it would not be in their interest if this continued.”
This was from the same network that decried the actual peace deals the Trump administration negotiated between Arab and predominantly Muslim nations and Israel. “President Trump proclaiming this a peace agreement, but the countries were not at war,” scoffed chief foreign affairs correspondent Martha Raddatz huffed back in September, despite the fact, all the signatory countries said it was a peace deal.
ABC’s fabrication of President Biden’s involvement with the cease-fire was made possible because of lucrative sponsorships from Allegra and TD Ameritrade. Their contact information is linked so you can tell them about the biased news they fund.
The transcript is below, click "expand" to read:
ABC’s World News Tonight
May 20, 2021
6:30:19 p.m. Eastern [Opening tease]DAVID MUIR: Tonight, breaking news as we come on the air. Israel and Hamas agreeing to a cease-fire. President Biden speaking just moments ago. After 11 days of relentless rockets and missile attacks, a truce now set to take effect just a short time from now. President Biden, who put increasing pressure on Benjamin Netanyahu, Biden talking just a short time ago. Matt Gutman standing by in Tel Aviv. Mary Bruce at the white house. Our team on the breaking news tonight.
(…)
6:32:19 p.m. Eastern
MUIR: Good evening and it's great to have you with us here on a very busy Thursday night. A lot of news breaking just as we're coming on the air tonight, and we're going to begin with the news of that cease-fire. Israel and Hamas agreeing to a cease-fire with no conditions after 11 days of a raging battle that cost hundreds of lives. That cease-fire set to take affect within the hour now.
President Biden talking with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu again late today. We knew yet President Biden told him in a call that he wanted to see a significant de-escalation in the Israeli operation.
Moments ago, President Biden before the cameras, saying he supported Israel's right to defend itself, but also saying Israelis and Palestinians equally deserve to live safely and securely.
(…)
6:34:32 p.m. Eastern
MATT GUTMAN: The decision following days of intense international pressure to end the violence, especially from President Biden, who the White House said yesterday told the Prime Minister in their fourth call in a week he expected to see a significant de-escalation that day.
PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: My conversation with President Netanyahu, I commended him for the decision to bring the current hostilities to a close in less than 11 days.
(…)
6:37:19 p.m. Eastern
MUIR: President Biden, as you saw, speaking a short time ago, saying he talked with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a number of times during the course of this conflict. The White House making public in the last 24 hours that President Biden, just yesterday, called for that significant de-escalation.
Mary Bruce with us tonight. And Mary, this was a delicate dance over how much the White House would make public in recent days and how much they left to what they call “quiet diplomacy.”
MARY BRUCE: David, this was the first big foreign policy test for this president and Biden walked a fine line throughout. He was facing growing pressure from his own party to take a tougher stance on Israel. And you seemed to see the President nod to that tonight in his remarks, saying, quote, “I believe the Palestinians and Israelis deserve to enjoy equal measures of freedom, prosperity and democracy.”
Now, White House sources I've talked to feel that this all shows Biden's approach to diplomacy working. He laid low in those first few days, trying to rely heavily on that quiet, intensive, behind the scenes diplomacy, and then upped the public pressure on Israel in just the recent days.
He and Prime Minister Netanyahu have a relationship; they understand how each other work. Biden took an increasingly serious tone, I am told, and made it clear to Israel that it would not be in their interest if this continued. David?
MUIR: All right, Mary Bruce at the White House tonight. Mary, thank you and to Matt Gutman leading off the broadcast tonight. The breaking news, the cease-fire between Israel and Hamas.
