‘Bye Genocide Joe’: Social media reflects on Biden’s legacy on Gaza

As Joseph Biden’s US presidency comes to an end, many on social media this week are saying that his legacy boils down to one thing: his active role in Israel’s fifteen-month war on Gaza, which has been widely defined as a “genocide” by human rights organisations, international bodies and scholars.

Biden’s last day as president, on 19 January, is also the first day of the planned Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal that was reportedly pushed to the finish line by the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump, though both Biden and Trump took credit for the deal.

This has raised more significant criticism of Biden’s role in Israel’s bombing campaign on Gaza, with the US providing $17.9bn in military aid since 7 October 2023 after the Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel and the subsequent war.

His unfaltering support for Israel led to the infamous nickname given by pro-Palestinians and social media users: “Genocide Joe”.

“Everything that’s happening now with the ceasefire negotiations is only further revealing how Biden could’ve stopped this genocide from day 1 by exerting proper pressure and refusing to send bombs and billions of dollars unconditionally,” Palestinian-American imam Dr Omar Suleiman wrote on X. “Your legacy is genocide @POTUS.”

In an interview covering the last four years, Biden spoke about his first conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after the attack on Israel, saying that he told Netanyahu “[he] can’t be carpet bombing these communities”, to which Netyanhu pointed his finger back at the United States for carpet bombing areas during World War II.

Many responded to the interview online, saying that they saw this as an admission of Biden knowing he was funding what international courts are calling war crimes. 

A common sentiment that has been echoed online is that Biden may have a legacy that is just as stained as that of George W Bush – whose war on Iraq caused a reported death toll of one million Iraqis. 

“The Biden administration’s foreign policy legacy will likely stand as one of the worst in decades, in competition with George W Bush for making the world a more dangerous place for both American interests and American values,” one account posted on X. 

While the majority of the discourse online is focused on Biden and Gaza, some have pointed out the achievements he’s had domestically in Covid relief and dropping the unemployment rate. 

A post on X that has been repeatedly circulated throughout the last fifteen months is Palestinian academic Refaat Alareer’s last post before an Israeli strike killed him. 

“I hope the ghost of every Palestinian you killed – with personal glee – haunts you for the rest of your life and follows you into your grave,” journalist Sana Saeed posted on X. 

“Blinken and Biden, the Butchers of Palestine – there is no other legacy for you and your entire administration.”