Biden sparks backlash for banning TikTok before calling for Gaza ceasefire

US president Joe Biden has sparked backlash – not only for signing a TikTok banning bill but, more importantly, doing so before calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.

On Wednesday (24 April), Biden signed the law to ban the popular platform if the company ByteDance doesn’t sell it within a year.

The decision rocked the internet, with many flooding X/Twitter with their fury.

"Biden was so quick to ban TikTok but slurred the whole time on Gaza ceasefire. Like, leader of the free world, right? Insanity," one person wrote, while another added: "Why ban TikTok, but not call for a ceasefire? This is nasty work, very nasty."

"Signing a bill to ban TikTok over a ceasefire is absolutely insane," a third wrote. "This country sucks!!!!!"

Meanwhile, one user tagged the president on the platform: "@JoeBiden I see how fast you signed the TikTok ban, but about a ceasefire you wanna move slow."

To add insult to injury, Biden also "passed the moral point of no return," as per the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), by signing a $94bn foreign funding bill that includes military aid to Israel.

On Wednesday, he called it a "good day for world peace," while reportedly providing Israel with $17bn in additional aid.

"It is beyond unconscionable that Congress and President Biden are sending the Israeli military billions of dollars worth of weapons – with no strings attached – to massacre, starve, and expel Palestinian civilians," IfNotNow, a youth-led progressive Jewish group, said in a statement.

US Senator Bernie Sanders called it a "dark day," adding: "The housing in Gaza is destroyed; the infrastructure in Gaza is destroyed; the health care system in Gaza is destroyed; the educational system in Gaza is destroyed. Enough is enough."

On 7 October 2023, Hamas launched an unexpected attack on Israel killing 1,200 people and taking 200 hostages. Israel responded and has since killed over 33,400 people, mostly women and children, according to the Palestinian health ministry.

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