Asked aboard Air Force One, prior to its departure from Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on Thursday, if he asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for a three-day pause, U.S. President Joe Biden said “I’ve been asking for a pause for—for a lot more than three days.”
“Did you ask him to pause for three days to get the hostages out for that length of time?” the reporter sought to clarify.
“Yes. I’ve asked for even a longer pause for some of them,” the president said, per an official White House transcript.
Later on, a reporter asked Biden, “Were you frustrated with Prime Minister Netanyahu that he has not listened more to some of the things you have asked him to do?”
“It’s taking a little longer than I hoped,” Biden said.
