By early 2025, the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza had become undeniable. Entire neighborhoods leveled. Tens of thousands dead. Children starving. And through it all, the United States – the self-declared leader of the free world – was not only complicit but instrumental.
What’s harder for many Americans to accept is this: both the Biden and Trump administrations played a direct role. Their strategies differed in tone, not in substance. One cloaked its complicity in diplomatic language; the other wore cruelty on its sleeve. But the outcomes of military funding, blocked ceasefires, and civilian devastation were alarmingly consistent.
This wasn’t a failure of one party. It was the product of a bipartisan foreign policy that has too often valued loyalty to power over human rights.
I. Biden’s Presidency (2021–2025): Quiet Complicity in Broad Daylight
Following Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack, the Biden administration offered full-throated support to Israel’s military response. But as the assault on Gaza escalated, so did the humanitarian toll and U.S. involvement.
Between late 2023 and the end of Biden’s term in January 2025:
- The U.S. sent over $17.9 billion in support to Israel, including at least $12.5 billion in direct military aid.
- The Biden administration vetoed multiple UN ceasefire resolutions, even as global consensus called for an end to the violence.
- U.S. officials repeatedly downplayed or ignored international law violations, including the bombing of hospitals, schools, and refugee camps.
- At least two dozen State Department and USAID officials resigned, calling the administration’s policy a betrayal of human rights and international norms.
- Human rights groups, including the Center for Constitutional Rights, filed legal complaints accusing Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and Austin of aiding and abetting genocide.
Even as public opposition surged – particularly among younger voters and progressives – Biden stood firm. He described his support for Israel as “ironclad.” But for those watching famine spread and bodies pulled from rubble, ironclad looked more like indifference.
II. Trump’s Return (2025–): Cruel Rhetoric, Same Outcomes
Donald Trump retook office on January 20, 2025, and wasted no time making his intentions clear. His administration floated proposals to:
- “Clear out” Gaza and resettle Palestinians elsewhere, a move widely condemned as ethnic cleansing.
- Establish a U.S.-backed Gaza Protectorate, with vague promises of aid and order but no acknowledgment of Palestinian sovereignty.
- Continue arms shipments and logistical coordination with the Israeli government, even as the death toll mounted.
In June 2025, the Trump administration vetoed yet another UN resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire mirroring Biden’s earlier stance almost exactly.
For all his bombast, Trump followed the same blueprint: block international accountability, fund Israeli military operations, and sideline Palestinian voices.
III. Why 2024 Was a Turning Point
By the middle of 2024 – still under Biden’s leadership – public opinion had shifted dramatically:
- A majority of Americans, including over 70% of Democrats under age 35, opposed continued military aid to Israel.
- Protests erupted across the country. College campuses, federal buildings, and campaign events saw walkouts, sit-ins, and disruptions.
- Biden’s approval rating on foreign policy hit a new low.
- Vice President Kamala Harris faced intense backlash in the Democratic Party primaries, with many citing Gaza as a deal-breaker for their vote.
The disillusionment wasn’t just about policy. It was about principle. People had hoped Biden would restore America’s moral standing after the Trump years. Instead, they saw drone strikes, vetoes, and silence.
By the time Trump took office in January 2025, the moral high ground had already been ceded. There was no clear “good guy” in American foreign policy, justpolicy just a different tone, and the same tragic results.
IV. Policy Over Rhetoric: Why Both Parties Are Responsible
Too often, debates about foreign policy devolve into comparisons of tone. Trump is bombastic. Biden is careful. Trump sounds dangerous. Biden sounds presidential.
But the people of Gaza didn’t experience tone. They experienced action. 2000-pound Bombs funded by American taxpayers. Ceasefires blocked by American ambassadors. Aid stalled while U.S. leaders promised “unwavering support.”
Let’s be clear:
Biden enabled the siege through aid, vetoes, and silence.
Trump escalated it with genocidal language and continued backing of Israeli military actions.
Both chose politics over humanity.
And at no point did either administration meaningfully center Palestinian lives or international law.
V. The Path Forward: Rejecting the Two-Party Cage
The devastation in Gaza is not a partisan failure. It’s a systemic one. It reflects decades of U.S. policy that treats Palestinian lives as expendable, that arms allies without accountability, and that prioritizes optics over ethics.
In 2024, many voters woke up to this reality. They saw that simply choosing “the lesser evil” doesn’t stop the killing. That leadership without accountability is just managed decline. And that complicity, no matter how it’s branded, still ends in death.
If we are to rebuild any moral standing. if we are to truly stand for peace, justice, and dignity we must hold all leaders accountable, not just the ones we didn’t vote for.
Because when genocide is on the table, the question isn’t “Who’s worse?”
It’s “Who stood by and let it happen?”
And right now, the answer is both.
