Biden is ‘increasingly Trumpian’ on Gaza and ‘dealing in alternative facts’, says State Dept official who resigned over war

President Joe Biden has become “increasingly Trumpian” in his rhetoric over Israel’s war in Gaza, dealing in “alternative facts” to justify US support for the longtime ally, according to a former State Department official who resigned over the war.

Annelle Sheline, who worked in the State Department for one year before leaving last month, said Mr Biden’s refusal to use his leverage to pressure Israel to prevent more bloodshed in Gaza was part of the reason she resigned.

“This policy decision is making him seem increasingly Trumpian — the disregard for reality, offering alternative facts,” she told The Independent.

“They’re just going to keep pretending that people can’t see with their own eyes what’s coming out of Gaza — what Israeli soldiers themselves are posting, the horrific crimes that they’re committing.”

Dr Sheline cited the Biden administration’s claims that it had not found any examples of Israel breaking international humanitarian law, and its refusal to accept the International Criminal Court’s findings that Israel was plausibly committing genocide as examples of the president’s “disregard for reality.”

“Part of why I voted for Joe Biden that he was he seemed like a decent guy. He wasn’t someone like Trump, who was just out for his own self-interest,” she said. “Now, after six months of essentially unconditional support,  it’s becoming really hard to continue to see him as somebody who is compassionate.”

“He must know what’s happening to people in Gaza, and yet the policy doesn’t change,” she added.

Mr Biden has received sharp criticism for his multiple public missteps throughout the conflict, which have included spreading incorrect facts and questionable judgement.

In the early days of the war, the president