Mike John­son blames Biden hav­ing ‘senior moment’ for Israel aid deci­sion

House Speak­er Mike John­son (R‑LA) ques­tioned whether Pres­i­dent Joe Biden’s com­ments threat­en­ing to with­hold aid from Israel were due to cog­ni­tive decline.
In an inter­view with Politi­co, John­son, fresh off defeat­ing an effort to unseat him as speak­er, expressed shock over Biden’s remarks Wednes­day night, in which the pres­i­dent said the Unit­ed States would cut off the flow of offen­sive weapons to Israel if it went through with its inva­sion of Rafah. The House speak­er said it was so for­eign to the sen­ti­ment expressed in pri­vate con­ver­sa­tions that he believes Biden may have slipped up.

Pres­i­dent Joe Biden, with from left, House Minor­i­ty Leader Hakeem Jef­fries (D‑NY) and House Speak­er Mike John­son (R‑LA), pray and lis­ten dur­ing the Nation­al Prayer Break­fast on Thurs­day, Feb. 1, 2024, at the Capi­tol in Wash­ing­ton. (AP Photo/J. Scott Apple­white)

“And my reac­tion hon­est­ly was: Wow, that is a com­plete turn from what I have been told even in, you know, recent hours,” John­so …