President Biden is ending his tenure in the White House on a ‘sad’ note after ‘lying to the nation’ and taking credit for a cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas during his farewell address on Wednesday evening, a Trump transition official said. 

‘Joe Biden is going out sad. Lying to the nation trying to take credit for a deal that all parties credit President Trump for making happen. Biden has had well over a year to secure the release of these hostages and peace. He failed. Trump succeeded,’ a Trump transition official told Fox News Digital on Wednesday evening. 

War has raged in the Middle East since October of 2023, with Israel and Hamas coming to a ceasefire agreement on Wednesday that also ensured the release of hostages. 

Biden delivered his final address to the nation on Wednesday evening, where he took a victory lap for the cease fire in his opening remarks. 

‘My fellow Americans, I’m speaking to you tonight from the Oval Office. Before I begin, let me speak to important news from earlier today. After eight months of nonstop negotiation, my administration – by my administration – a cease-fire and hostage deal has been reached by Israel and Hamas. The elements of which I laid out in great detail in May of this year,’ Biden said. 

‘This plan was developed and negotiated by my team, and will be largely implemented by the incoming administration. That’s why I told my team to keep the incoming administration fully informed, because that’s how it should be, working together as Americans,’ he continued. 

Credit for reaching the agreement, however, was bolstered by the incoming Trump administration, according to sources who told Fox Digital that a recent meeting between Trump’s incoming Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly played a pivotal role in the deal. 

Netanyahu also thanked Trump on Wednesday for ‘his assistance in advancing the release of the hostages.’

‘Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke this evening with US President-elect Donald Trump and thanked him for his assistance in advancing the release of the hostages and for helping Israel bring an end to the suffering of dozens of hostages and their families,’ the official Prime Minister of Israel X account posted. 

‘The Prime Minister made it clear that he is committed to returning all of the hostages however he can, and commended the US President-elect for his remarks that the US would work with Israel to ensure that Gaza will never be a haven for terrorism.’

The X account added later: ‘Prime Minister Netanyahu then spoke with US President Joe Biden and thanked him as well for his assistance in advancing the hostages deal.’ 

When asked who the history books would remember for championing the ceasefire deal earlier Wednesday, Biden balked at the suggestion Trump and his team spearheaded the effort. 

‘Who in the history books gets credit for this, Mr. President, you or Trump?’ Fox News’ Jacqui Heinrich asked Biden at Wednesday afternoon’s White House news conference.

‘Is that a joke?’ the president responded.

‘Oh. Thank you,’ Biden responded when Heinrich said it was not a joke, and then walked away.

Leaders in the U.S. and around the world commended the recent Israel-Hamas cease-fire deal on Wednesday.

Biden announced the terms of the cease-fire during a news conference Wednesday at the White House. It will consist of two phases and will take place over the next several weeks. 

The first phase, which is set to begin Sunday, ‘includes a full and complete cease-fire, withdrawal of Israeli forces from all the populated areas of Gaza, and the release of a number of hostages held by Hamas, including women and elderly and the wounded,’ Biden said.

The second phase is contingent on Israel negotiating ‘the necessary arrangements,’ to mark a complete end to the war.

The response to the deal was overwhelmingly positive. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said that she was ‘very encouraged’ to see the cease-fire come to fruition.

‘This is something I’ve called for many, many months over the last year since the horrific, barbaric attack on innocent civilians in Israel that occurred on October 7 of last year,’ Hochul said. ‘My main priority has been bringing home the hostages.’

Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., wrote on X that he felt ‘an indescribable sense of relief,’ about the return of the hostages.

‘The return of the hostages will mark the beginning of closure for Israelis and Jews, as well as countless others, who continue to be deeply affected by the indelible terror and trauma of October 7th,’ Torres wrote. ‘The hostages have been brought home by the power of the world’s most powerful friendship – the US-Israel relationship.’

The deal also attracted international attention. In a statement, British Prime Minister Kier Starmer called the cease-fire ‘long-overdue news.’

‘[The Israeli and Palestinian people] have borne the brunt of this conflict – triggered by the brutal terrorists of Hamas, who committed the deadliest massacre of Jewish people since the Holocaust on October 7th, 2023,’ Starmer said. ‘The hostages, who were brutally ripped from their homes on that day and held captive in unimaginable conditions ever since, can now finally return to their families.

‘But we should also use this moment to pay tribute to those who won’t make it home – including the British people who were murdered by Hamas. We will continue to mourn and remember them. ‘

In an X post translated from French to English, French President Emmanuel Macron said that the cease-fire must be respected.

‘After 15 months of unjustifiable ordeal, immense relief for the Gazans, hope for the hostages and their families,’ Macron said. He also referenced Ohad Yahalomi and Ofer Calderon, two French-Israeli hostages.

Though many are celebrating, some have expressed caution about the possibility of the deal falling through. 

On Wednesday, White House national security communications adviser John Kirby said that the ‘big hurdle’ — which included finalizing the deal — had been ‘overcome.’

Hopefully, come this weekend, we’ll start to see some families reunited,’ Kirby said, adding that he was ‘confident’ that the deal will be implemented, despite hard work ahead.

Fox News Digital’s Joshua Comins contributed to this report.

Reactions from social media came pouring in Wednesday night as President Biden delivered his farewell address to the country, ending a career in politics that spanned over half a century.

‘Joe Biden discussing democracy, a free press, institutions and the abuse of power in his final farewell speech is rich,’ GOP Congresswoman Nancy Mace posted on X. 

‘What an embarrassing and pathetic end to an embarrassing and pathetic term,’ Fox News host Greg Gutfeld posted on X. 

‘Joe Biden can’t even read. Every time he speaks it gets worse,’ conservative commentator and radio host Clay Travis posted on X. ‘Trying to run him in 2024 is the most reckless and indefensible presidential decision in any of our lives.’

‘My thoughts on President Joe Biden’s Farewell Address: It was underwhelming and divisive,’ Gabriella Hoffman, Independent Women’s Forum Center for Energy & Conservation director, posted on X.

‘I’m relieved his four-year term is coming to an end. Mr. Biden failed to bring Americans together and pushed terrible ‘whole of government’ policies that weakened us on many fronts: energy, national security, economics/small business, foreign affairs, and general freedoms. History won’t look kindly on Biden’s tenure. He’s now the most unpopular U.S. President in history.’

‘Joe Biden mentions climate hysteria ahead of actual priorities, like border security, lowering costs, and peace through strength,’ GOP Sen. Markwayne Mullin posted on X. ‘They never learn.’

‘Joe Biden’s going out of office the same way he went in: Petty, partisan, and frankly not telling the truth,’ GOP Congressman Darrell Issa posted on X. 

‘I’m stunned,’ former Democratic adviser Dan Turrentine posted on X. ‘I’m no historian, but, I don’t recall a more dark Presidential farewell address? It’s more a cry to the DNC than accentuating the positive to the country. This is sad.’

‘Biden ends his presidency by using rhetoric that would be right at home in a third-world communist dictatorship,’ Red State writer Bonchie posted on X. ‘This may be the worst farewell speech in presidential history.’

Democrats, however, generally had a decidedly different take.

‘Four years ago, in the middle of a pandemic, we needed a leader with the character to put politics aside and do what was right,’ former President Obama posted on X. 

‘That’s what Joe Biden did. At a time when our economy was reeling, he drove what would become the world’s strongest recovery – with 17 million new jobs, historic wage gains, and lower health care costs. He passed landmark legislation to rebuild our nation’s infrastructure and address the threat of climate change.  I’m grateful to Joe for his leadership, his friendship, and his lifetime of service to this country we love.’

Liberal commentator Harry Sisson posted on X, ‘President Biden just gave the best speech of his presidency.

‘His farewell address was incredibly moving. I will always be thankful for President Biden and his talented administration. Thank you to everyone who served and gave America an amazing four years.’

Biden has four days left in his presidency before Monday’s inauguration, when President-elect Trump will be sworn into office.

‘My fellow Americans, I’m speaking to you tonight from the Oval Office. Before I begin, let me speak to important news from earlier today. After eight months of nonstop negotiation, my administration —  by my administration — a cease-fire and hostage deal has been reached by Israel and Hamas, the elements of which I laid out in great detail in May of this year,’ Biden said in his opening remarks, taking credit for the recent announcement that a cease-fire deal had been reached in Israel. 

‘This plan was developed and negotiated by my team and will be largely implemented by the incoming administration. That’s why I told my team to keep the incoming administration fully informed, because that’s how it should be, working together as Americans.’ 

Biden’s speech also focused on the American dream and the ‘most powerful idea’ that ‘all of us are created equal.’

‘The very idea of America was so big we felt the entire world needed to see,’ Biden said. ‘The Statue of Liberty, a gift from France after our Civil War. Like the very idea of America, it was built not by one person, but by many people, from every background and from around the world. Like America, the Statue of Liberty is not standing still. Her foot literally steps forward atop a broken chain of human bondage. She’s on the march, and she literally moves. 

‘A nation of pioneers and explorers, of dreamers and doers, of ancestors native to this land, of ancestors who came by force. A nation of immigrants came to build a better life, a nation holding a torch. The most powerful idea ever in the history of the world that all of us, all of us are created equal. All of us deserve to be treated with dignity, justice and fairness that democracy must defend and be defined and be imposed, moved in every way possible, our rights, our freedoms, our dreams.’