Democrats worry Biden's support for Israel ruined his image for key voters: 'Cruel policy'

Democrats are worried President Biden's stance toward Israel has ruined his standing with a key portion of the Democratic base, as the president continues to face criticism from progressives over his messaging on the war in Gaza.

"It has undermined one of his most important assets against Trump," Matt Duss, a former foreign policy adviser to Sen. Bernie Sanders, told Politico. "Biden’s reputation was — agree or disagree with him — he’s a decent guy, he’s an empathetic guy, he’s an honest guy. But this policy has been a cruel policy."

Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., Hillary Clinton's running mate in 2016, said there was an "obvious" answer to the problem that the president should have pushed for months ago. In a phone call on Thursday, Biden warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that U.S. policy could change if he didn't improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza.

"I applaud President Biden for successfully urging Prime Minister Netanyahu to open another border crossing from Israel to allow robust delivery of humanitarian aid," Kaine said in a statement last week. "But this was an obvious solution that should have happened months ago."

WORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN PAUSES GAZA OPERATIONS AFTER 7 AID WORKERS KILLED BY ‘UNFORGIVABLE’ ISRAELI AIRSTRIKE

Kaine said the current approach was "not working."

During a phone call with his Israeli counterpart, Biden stressed that Israel’s strikes on "humanitarian workers and the overall humanitarian situation are unacceptable," according to a White House readout of the call previously reported by Fox News Digital.

The same sentiment was echoed later Thursday by National Security Council spokesman John Kirby and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, with Blinken telling reporters that the United