Posted on Oct 15, 2023
Israel-Gaza conflict proves treacherous ground for US politicians
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In the days immediately after the Hamas attack on Israel, the Republicans seeking the US presidency had focused their criticism on President Joe Biden and what they saw as American weakness and missteps that had paved the way for violence.
That changed on Wednesday night, however, when Donald Trump addressed the topic in a speech near his home in West Palm Beach, Florida.
Now some of Mr Trump's rivals are condemning the former president in some of the most direct language of this campaign.
During remarks to a crowd of supporters, Mr Trump said Israel had to "straighten it out because they're fighting, potentially a very big force".
He called Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant a "jerk" and repeatedly called Hezbollah, the militant Islamist group in Lebanon, "very smart".
Mr Trump also said that Israel had initially agreed to work with the US on a 2020 drone strike that killed Iranian Major General Qasem Soleimani, but that they backed out at the last minute.
"I'll never forget that Bibi Netanyahu let us down," he said. "That was a very terrible thing."
In a television interview that aired Thursday, he went further in his criticism of the Israeli prime minister, saying Mr Netanyahu was "not very prepared" for the possibility of a Hamas attack.
That changed on Wednesday night, however, when Donald Trump addressed the topic in a speech near his home in West Palm Beach, Florida.
Now some of Mr Trump's rivals are condemning the former president in some of the most direct language of this campaign.
During remarks to a crowd of supporters, Mr Trump said Israel had to "straighten it out because they're fighting, potentially a very big force".
He called Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant a "jerk" and repeatedly called Hezbollah, the militant Islamist group in Lebanon, "very smart".
Mr Trump also said that Israel had initially agreed to work with the US on a 2020 drone strike that killed Iranian Major General Qasem Soleimani, but that they backed out at the last minute.
"I'll never forget that Bibi Netanyahu let us down," he said. "That was a very terrible thing."
In a television interview that aired Thursday, he went further in his criticism of the Israeli prime minister, saying Mr Netanyahu was "not very prepared" for the possibility of a Hamas attack.
Israel-Gaza conflict proves treacherous ground for US politicians
Posted from bbc.com
Donald Trump
Israel
Palestine
Republicans
Palm Beach
Posted 7 mo ago
Responses: 2
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."Mr Trump's former vice-president, Mike Pence, noted a pattern in his old boss's foreign policy statements.
"Hezbollah aren't smart, they're evil," he said in a radio interview on Thursday.
"But the former president also said when Russia invaded Ukraine in a similar, unprovoked, unconscionable invasion a year-and-a-half ago, he said Vladimir Putin was a genius."
The former president's campaign team on Thursday attempted to explain Mr Trump's comments in a social media post on Thursday, writing, "smart does not equal good" - an effort the DeSantis campaign called "rhetorical gymnastics"."...
..."Mr Trump's former vice-president, Mike Pence, noted a pattern in his old boss's foreign policy statements.
"Hezbollah aren't smart, they're evil," he said in a radio interview on Thursday.
"But the former president also said when Russia invaded Ukraine in a similar, unprovoked, unconscionable invasion a year-and-a-half ago, he said Vladimir Putin was a genius."
The former president's campaign team on Thursday attempted to explain Mr Trump's comments in a social media post on Thursday, writing, "smart does not equal good" - an effort the DeSantis campaign called "rhetorical gymnastics"."...
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I believe if we had a stronger POTUS that supported Israel better, the attack may not have happened at this time.
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