Biden's St. Patrick's Day meeting with Irish leader overshadowed by split on Gaza as Taoiseach pushes for a 'ceasefire as soon as possible'

President Joe Biden and Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar's annual meeting - always scheduled around the St. Patrick's Day holiday - is usually a lighthearted affair. 

But this year's Oval Office meeting - followed by a lunch on Capitol Hill - was overshadowed by Israel's war in Gaza. 

The Irish are loudly pro-Palestinian and Varadkar has said he will impress that message upon Biden, who has been supportive of Israel, though has reportedly expressed criticism of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu behind closed doors. 

'I want to keep talking about situation in Gaza as well,' Varadkar told Biden at the top of their meeting. 'My view is we need a ceasefire as soon as possible, to get food and medicine in, to get the hostages out. We need to talk about how we can make that happen and move towards a two state solution.' 

The president nodded in agreement and twice said, 'I agree.' 

President Joe Biden (right) welcomes Ireland's Taoiseach Leo Varadkar (right) to an Oval Office Friday, as the war in Gaza looms over the two leaders 

Ireland's Taoiseach Leo Varadkar (left) shakes hands with President Joe Biden (right) in the Oval Office on Friday. A crystal bowl of shamrocks can be seen behind the two leaders in celebration of the St. Patrick's Day holiday 

Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar (left) started his day with a breakfast meeting with Vice President Kamala Harris (right) at her Naval Observatory residence

Earlier this week in Boston, Varadkar told reporters, ' 'I'm not here to tell him off or tick him off,' also saying that 'we're certainly not going to start with uncomfortable truths.' 

As Biden kicked off the meeting, he thanked Varadkar for the hospitality he received when he paid a visit to the nation in April.

'May the hinge of our friendship never go rusty,' Biden said. 'I don't think we're going to let it go rusty.' 

Biden's support in Ireland has eroded due to his support of Israel, as Palestianian civilians have been killed en masse as Israel tries to root out Hamas, with some Irish politicians calling the American president complicit. 

The president noted that the Americans and Irish have hit a 100-year diplomatic relationship, adding that it 'keeps increasing, not diminishing' and was 'stronger than ever.' 

Biden said on the issue of Gaza, 'we both know a lot more has to be done.' 

Afterward, Varadkar addressed reporters outside the West Wing. 

Asked if he asked Biden to stop sending U.S. weapons to Israel, Varadkar responded, 'The president was very clear that the U.S. would continue to support Israel and to assist Israel to defend itself. So I don't think that's going to change.' 

'But I think none of us like to see American weapons being used in the way they are and the way they're being used in the moment is not self-defense,' Varadkar said.

Vice President Kamala Harris (center right) and her husband, second gentleman Doug Emhoff (right) welcomed Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar (center left) and his husband Matthew Barrett (left) to their Naval Observatory residence Friday morning for breakfast 

Varadkar also answered a question on whether there was a purposeful distinction when he said 'immediate ceasefire' versus a 'ceasefire as soon as possible,' the language he used with Biden. 

He said no. 

'I wouldn't read too much into that. When I say ceasefire, I mean yesterday,' Varadkar said. 'A ceasefire is well overdue. The level of suffering, the number of lives that have been lost, it's just too much.' 

'But a ceasefire has to be on both sides, has to be Hamas as well as Israel,' he added. 

Varadkar and Biden were then headed to a luncheon on Capitol Hill hosted by Congressional leaders. 

During his time in Boston, a reporter for The Journal of Ireland asked Varadkar if Biden understood that he's lost support from the people of Ireland. 

Biden consistently touts his Irish ancestry and quotes Irish poets.  

'He's a politician. I think he understands what people think. I'm sure he's seeing the opinion polls here in the U.S. that are showing that younger people in particular, in America, are concerned about what's happening in Gaza.' 

'And there's a shift in American opinion, particularly among younger people that is evident and I'm sure he's aware of that,'  Varadkar continued. 

Varadkar pointed to the swaths of Democratic voters who chose to vote 'uncommitted' instead of for the president in the Democratic primaries, a protest vote over the White House's handling of Gaza. 

During last week's Super Tuesday primaries, about 20 percent of Democratic voters in Minnesota chose uncommitted over the now presumptive Democratic nominee. 

Varadkar and his husband Matthew Barrett also had breakfast Friday morning at the Naval Observatory home of Vice President Kamala Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff.