Former President Joseph R. Biden and his former secretary of state, Antony Blinken, took credit for the ceasefire in Gaza and the release of the 20 living hostages, accusing President Trump, who brokered the deal, of plagiarizing their own peace plan.
Late Monday, the same day Mr. Trump was in Israel and Egypt to celebrate the ceasefire and hostage release, Mr. Biden took to X to insist the current president’s 20-point peace plan belonged to him.
“The road to this deal was not easy. My administration worked relentlessly to bring the hostages home, get relief for Palestinian civilians and end the war. I commend President Trump and his team for their work to get a renewed ceasefire deal over the finish line,” Mr. Biden wrote, adding that he hopes the peace endures.
Mr. Blinken was more direct, outright alleging that Mr. Trump copied the Biden administration’s plan to return the hostages and end the hostilities.
“It starts with a clear and comprehensive post-conflict plan for Gaza. It’s good that President Trump adopted and built on the plan the Biden administration developed after months of discussion with Arab partners, Israel and the Palestinian Authority,” he wrote on X.
“I also commend President Trump for reaffirming the key principles we established for Gaza at the outset of the war — no platform for terrorism, no annexation, no occupation, no forced population transfers,” Mr. Blinken wrote in a follow-up post.
Mr. Biden and Mr. Blinken didn’t explain why their deal wasn’t accepted by the Israelis or Palestinians. The war broke out after Hamas’ Oct. 23, 2023, attack on Israel while Mr. Biden was in office.
When asked about their comments, Mr. Trump responded on Air Force One while returning home from Egypt that their claims were “a joke.”
“Look, they did such a bad job. This should have never happened,” he said. “If just a decent president — not a great president like me — if a decent president were in, you wouldn’t have had the Russia-Ukraine war. This was bad policy by Biden and Obama.”
Mr. Blinken has repeatedly tried to take credit for the ceasefire brokered under Mr. Trump.
Earlier this month, before Israel and Hamas agreed to Mr. Trump’s plan, the former secretary of state said on Preet Bharara’s podcast that it was “essentially the plan we developed over many months.”
“I’m very, very glad they picked it up,” Mr. Blinken said, ticking off a list of similarities, including calling for a transitional government in Gaza, an increase in humanitarian aid and demanding Hamas disarm.
Mr. Trump’s 20-point proposal also included an economic development plan and the condition that Israel won’t occupy Gaza, points missing from the Biden plan.
Mr. Blinken told Mr. Bharara that the Biden administration was close to implementing their peace proposal, but then Mr. Trump took office. He said the Trump team waited to run with his plan because it needed the first few months to get “organized.”
This week was not the first time Mr. Biden and Mr. Trump dueled for credit over a ceasefire agreement in the Middle East. In January, both presidents claimed they were responsible for a temporary ceasefire that ultimately fell apart.
The deal, which was negotiated after Mr. Trump won the election but before he took office, became a bone of contention between the two administrations. Mr. Biden said his people had been “speaking as one team” with the incoming Trump group, but also emphasized his own role in closing the deal.
When asked if he or Mr. Trump should take credit for the deal, Mr. Biden fired back, “Is that a joke?” and walked away.
Mr. Trump, meanwhile, said on Truth Social that the agreement was possible only because he won the November election.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
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