President Biden appeared to mistakenly claim on Monday that he “spoke to” the American hostage who was found dead in a Hamas tunnel over the weekend — adding to his string of uncomfortable gaffes in the last months of his presidency.
It happened after Biden, 81, was asked if he had a message for the families of six hostages who were discovered dead in a Hamas tunnel by the Israel Defense Forces on Saturday.
One of the hostages was Israeli American Hersh Goldberg-Polin, who had been held hostage for nearly 11 months since he was abducted from a music festival on Oct. 7.
“I’ve spoken to the American hostage,” Biden said in apparent reference to Goldberg-Polin. “I spoke to his mom and dad, and we’re not giving up. We’re going to continue to push as hard as we can.”
The White House did not respond to a question regarding which hostage Biden was referencing. However, he did speak to Goldberg-Polin’s family on Sunday after he was identified as one of the hostages discovered dead.
“I am devastated and outraged,” Biden wrote in a statement after meeting with the family, saying, “Hamas leaders will pay for these crimes.”
“I have gotten to know his parents, Jon and Rachel. They have been courageous, wise, and steadfast, even as they have endured the unimaginable,” the president said. “They have been relentless and irrepressible champions of their son and of all the hostages held in unconscionable conditions.”
“I admire them and grieve with them more deeply than words can express. I know all Americans tonight will have them in their prayers, just as Jill and I will,” he added.
Protests have erupted in Israel as Israelis plead with their government to prioritize securing a hostage deal with Hamas.
Over 250 hostages were taken from Israel on Oct. 7 into Gaza during the deadly Hamas attacks and abductions.
In November, Israel and Hamas did a prisoner exchange in which Israel got 105 hostages back. An estimated 101 hostages remain in captivity in the Gaza Strip.
Biden also told reporters outside the White House that he thought Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was not doing enough to secure a hostage deal with Hamas, adding that he hoped a deal was imminent.
The president came back to the White House on Monday — after being away for two weeks vacationing in California and Delaware — to meet with his national security team over the Israel hostage situation.
Biden is later expected to attend a campaign event with Vice President Kamala Harris in Pittsburgh, Pa., Monday afternoon.
