Former President Donald Trump and conservatives have been warning of President Joe Biden's weakness emboldening evil-doers around the world for years, but even anti-Trump Israelis are now sharing those fears after Thursday night's debate.
Israelis fear Iran and its terrorist proxies might seek to exploit Biden in the final months of his presidential election cycle, The New York Times reported Sunday.
"Will Hezbollah and Iran assess that Biden is too busy now to back Israel in case all-out war breaks out in Lebanon this summer?" Haaretz's Amos Harel wrote Sunday.
Harel admitted he is no friend to Trump, but the debate did raise concern for even Biden-backing Israelis as Biden allowed Trump to hit him on Gaza unchecked.
"Israel is the one, and you should let 'em go and let 'em finish the job," Trump said. "He doesn't want to do it. He's become like a Palestinian. But they don't like him because he's a very bad Palestinian, he's a weak one."
A concerned columnist for Israel Hayom agreed with Trump, fearing Biden being misguided by "an extreme progressive group."
"In a world rife with aggressive forces, the unflattering image of an American president — the leader of the free world — appearing weak and incoherent encourages them to exploit opportunities," Amnon Lord wrote.
"Biden's decline mirrors the collapse of his Middle East policy vis-à-vis Iran and its proxies."
But even Trump came to defend the U.S. and Biden, warning the rival powers around the world to not take advantage of the declining president in his final months.
"The whole world should know that while Biden is the worst president in the history of America, our country is going to be strong again, and it's going to be very soon," Trump told a rally in Chesapeake, Virginia, in a speech Friday that aired live and in its entirety on Newsmax and the free Newsmax2 streaming platform.
"I want the enemies to know that because we have a five-month transition period, and I want the enemies to know: Don't play around with us during this five-month period.
"Don't play around."