EXCLUSIVE: Shortly after President Biden announced Wednesday that he would withhold weapons from Israel if it entered the southern Gaza city of Rafah, former Vice President Mike Pence accused him of hypocrisy, in light of how his former boss was impeached on similar grounds.
On Wednesday, Biden lamented Gazan civilian casualties to CNN host Erin Burnett, telling her he "made it clear if they go into Rafah… I'm not supplying the weapons that have been used historically to deal with Rafah; to deal with the cities, to deal with that problem."
"We're going to continue to make sure Israel is secure in terms of Iron Dome and their ability to respond to attacks that came out of the Middle East recently. It's just wrong."
On X, formerly Twitter, Pence tore into Biden, calling his comments "totally unacceptable."
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"I’m old enough to remember when Democrats impeached another president for supposedly withholding foreign aid that had been approved by Congress," he said.
"Stop the threats, Joe. America Stands with Israel."
In comments to Fox News Digital, Pence said Biden abandoned Israel in order to "win over the Hamas apologist wing of his party."
"Israel is our ally and the only message we should be sending is that we will stand beside them until they finish the job in Gaza and eradicate Hamas, once and for all," Pence said.
"Congress passed the legislation, President Biden signed it, and it is his job to execute it. He can’t withhold aid for political convenience."
The Indiana Republican said Democrats used the same exact argument to impeach then-President Trump over his 2018 phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Trump reportedly asked Zelenskyy to look into the Hunter Biden-Burisma affair while dangling $214 million in U.S. security assistance, which Democrats considered an act of soliciting foreign election interference.
"Israel is our most cherished ally," Pence went on to say. "And they deserve American support to defeat Hamas – not to be used as a political pawn."
On Thursday, Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., took his criticism a step further by calling on the House to initiate similar impeachment proceedings against the incumbent.
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"The House has no choice but to impeach Biden based on the Trump-Ukraine precedent of withholding foreign aid to help with reelection," he said.
"Only with Biden, it’s true."
In Trump's case, Democrats claimed it was "undisputed" that Trump asked Zelenskyy for a political favor in return for security assistance.
In opening remarks by Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., at a December 2019 impeachment inquiry hearing, he alleged Trump's call with Zelenskyy was part of "concerted effort" to "solicit a personal advantage in the next election – this time, in the form of an investigation of his political adversaries by a foreign government."
In an apparent response to Biden's warning, Rep. Beth Van Duyne, R-Texas, introduced the Immediate Support for Israel Act on Friday, which she said would force the administration to deliver aid and support passed by Congress.
"Weeks ago, Congress came together in a bipartisan manner to pass an aid package for Israel. In an unprecedented move, President Biden not only halted the shipment of aid but also unilaterally added conditions to that very same aid – defying Congressional intent. Israel is currently engaged in a war with a terrorist organization that is still holding over 100 civilian hostages. There is simply no excuse for this delay," Van Duyne said in a statement obtained by Fox News.
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In a statement in Hebrew on the eve of Israeli Independence Day, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, "If we need to stand alone, we will stand alone."
"I have said that, if necessary, we will fight with our fingernails."
Meanwhile, billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman, who has been vocally critical of antisemitism on campus, responded to a clip of Biden's CNN interview with the comment: "Crazy: This is one of the worst acts against an ally of a sitting president ever."
"Hopefully, this means he won’t be sitting for much longer," Ackman wrote on X.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Pence's reaction.
Fox News' Chad Pergram and Yonat Friling contributed to this report.