Relations between the White House and the Cruz campaign heated up on Tuesday when a statement attributed to the Republican candidate tied the Biden administration’s response to the Israel-Palestinian conflict to “anti-Semitism.”
The White House was quick to deny the Cruz statement, calling it a “lie.”
The spat erupted over a question from a reporter at the White House press briefing about the Biden administration’s stance concerning the Israel-Palestinian conflict. White House press secretary Jen Psaki was clear in her response: “The President and this Administration is unequivocally committed to the security of Israel and to ensuring that the Palestinians are treated with respect and dignity as well.”
Rather than accept the press secretary’s response at face value, the Cruz campaign issued a statement that linked the Biden administration’s response to “anti-Semitism.” The statement said, “It is deeply alarming that the Biden Administration responds to serious questions about anti-Semitism with platitudes about unreciprocated and false respect and dignity.”
The statement by the Cruz campaign was met with a swift response from the White House. “That’s a lie,” Psaki said in a response to the statement, which she called an “unacceptable misinterpretation of the answer.”
The Cruz campaign has not yet responded to the White House statement, but the Republican candidate has a long history of criticizing the Biden administration’s foreign policy, particularly with regards to Israel.
That contradiction, between the Cruz campaign’s criticism of the Biden administration’s foreign policy and the White House’s response, may or may not have been intentional. But it does point to the sharp disagreement between the White House and Cruz on how to handle Middle East affairs.
It remains to be seen how this heated exchange of words will affect the Cruz campaign’s strategy moving forward. In the meantime, all eyes will be on the Biden administration for any further response to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.