President Joe Biden quickly corrected himself after making an inaccurate statement during a speech on Monday, where he mistakenly said that an American hostage “being held by Hamas” is now safe.
The president made the error during a Jewish heritage celebration at the White House, where he mentioned Hersh Goldberg-Polin as being “here with us today,” even though Goldberg-Polin is still held by Hamas.
“My administration is working around the clock to free the remaining hostages, just as we have freed hostages already. And here with us today is Hersh Goldberg-Polin,” Biden stated at the Rose Garden event.
The president quickly corrected himself, adding, “He is not here with us, but he is still being held by Hamas.”
BIDEN (slurring): “And here with us today is Hersh Goldberg-Polin…”
He’s actually an American-Israeli still being held hostage by Hamas. pic.twitter.com/bvFCRBcQEL
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) May 20, 2024
As the New York Post noted, dual Israeli citizen Goldberg-Polin “is among the five known Americans still held by Hamas terrorists after being kidnapped from southern Israel on Oct. 7.”
“The 23-year-old abductee had one of his hands amputated following his abduction as a result of injuries suffered during the attacks that killed about 1,200 people, including at least 33 Americans,” the report stated.
In April, Hamas even featured Goldberg-Polin in a propaganda video.
“Other U.S. citizens still believed to be held by Hamas include Tenafly, NJ, native Edan Alexander, 20, and former New York City resident Omer Neutra, 22, both of whom were serving in the Israeli military at the time of the surprise attack,” the report added.
A recent ABC News/Ipsos poll showed that Americans overwhelmingly feel that Biden is too old to serve another term.
