‘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".
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I will never forgive or forget those who tried to gaslight us, claiming that those who facilitated, funded and ensured this genocide continued day in and day out were our only hope to end it. Biden's legacy is a holocaust.
— Tamara Nassar (@TamaraINassar) January 15, 2025
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.
Biden: I knew it was 100% a genocide, I slightly nagged Netanyahu about it, then gave him everything he needed to carpet bomb Gaza anyways
— Muhammad Shehada (@muhammadshehad2) January 17, 2025
Excellent defence line that Biden should stick to at the ICC. It’ll make the judges’ job a lot easier to reach a verdict within seconds! https://t.co/A2qYmsWZVU
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.
biden and his admin deserve to have a legacy worse than bush. happily facilitated a genocide, allowed a massive rightwing cultural shift due to incompetence and removed hope for a better future. now trump gets to come in and look great just by simple comparison what a failure
— prance (@bocxtop) January 16, 2025
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.
Biden's domestic accomplishments (legislations) were unrivaled; American (macro)economy was still the strongest in the world with steady growth & low unemployment.
— Yogen Guragain (@yogen_guragain) January 13, 2025
But what went wrong with the Democratic candidate losing in the second term?
High Inflation & border crossings.
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.
The Democratic Party and Biden are responsible for the Gaza genocide perpetrated by Israel. https://t.co/6qMIvawzsP
— Refaat in Gaza 🇵🇸 (@itranslate123) December 4, 2023
"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."
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