After spending months meddling in and delaying Israel’s offensive in Gaza, Joe Biden is apparently concerned that Bibi Netanyahu is prolonging the conflict for his own benefit. Asked about that possibility in Time magazine, Biden responded: “I’m not going to comment on that. There is every reason for people to draw that conclusion.”

Noah notes that Biden seemed to contradict himself only a few hours later, but the comment is perplexing nonetheless. Why would he say such a thing?

Bibi has been methodical in his execution of the Gaza war — perhaps overly so — but that’s primarily because Biden spent months in public opposition to aspects of Israel’s offensive now under way. No Israeli wanted this war to last this long. No Israeli appreciates living in the dense fog of war. But they have been forced to do so for this long partially because the American president keeps hindering their efforts to clear the skies.

And even if the allegation against Bibi were credible, and even if Biden believed it, it’s a step further to go on record for Time and imply to the entire world that an alleged American ally is fighting a war for its prime minister’s own personal benefit.

Had Biden given him the green light, Bibi would almost certainly have pressed harder on the gas pedal. But in his rhetoric toward Israel, Biden has acted like a traffic light short-circuiting, erratically oscillating between green, red, and yellow. The least he could do is not act as if it’s the driver’s fault that things are slow.