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Useful Idiots with Katie Halper and Aaron Maté
Former Biden Officials: He ‘Doesn’t Think Palestinians Deserve Life’
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Former Biden Officials: He ‘Doesn’t Think Palestinians Deserve Life’

Josh Paul and Tariq Habash on why they resigned from the Biden administration

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In response to the Biden administration’s unfettered support of Israel’s genocide in Gaza, several US officials resigned from their posts in protest, refusing to take part in the mass slaughter of civilians.

Josh Paul, a State Department official who worked on arms transfers, dropped Biden in October 2023, weeks after the assault on Gaza began, and Tariq Habash, a Palestinian-American appointed as a senior official at the Department of Education, left in January 2024.

Now, in the wake of a disastrous election for the Biden-Harris administration, they’re joining the show to explain how the Democrats failed them, and what the party should have done differently to earn back their support.

“Americans feel disconnected from their government,” Tariq said. “They don't feel represented. We've seen poll after poll after poll where Americans say: ‘We want a ceasefire. We want to stop sending weapons to kill children. We don't want to see dead kids and doctors and journalists on our social media every single morning when we wake up.’

“And you see elected officials repeatedly vote the opposite, continue to do the bidding of external interests instead of their own constituents' interests. It creates this disconnect in a way that is really, really damaging to American democracy.”

He goes on, explaining how Biden himself is at the root of this divide.

“Joe Biden has been willing to make exceptions for the destruction of Palestinian life in a way that we've never seen a United States president be willing to do. And I can't think of another way of rationalizing it other than you just don't believe that Palestinians deserve life. And that is, frankly, just rooted in hate.”

But it isn’t just the Dems, they explain. In the interview we also go through Trump’s new cabinet picks, who, in line with mega-donor Miriam Adelson, are all deeply in the pocket of the Israel lobby.

It’s like Biden promised in his 2020 campaign: “Nothing will fundamentally change.”

Follow Josh and Tariq’s organization A New Policy.

Plus, catch this week’s Thursday Throwdown: Trump’s New Cabinet Will Make Israel Great Again

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Useful Idiots
Useful Idiots with Katie Halper and Aaron Maté
Useful Idiots is an informative and irreverent politics podcast with journalist Aaron Maté and podcaster/writer Katie Halper. Episodes feature on-the-road coverage of the 2020 campaign and exclusive interviews, with humor, commentary and dissection of the politics news of the week. Join Katie and Aaron as they examine important stories that have slipped through the cracks and what the media got wrong – and laugh about whatever is left to laugh about.