“Both U.S. presidential candidates, Biden and Trump, are turning their rhetorical backs on Israel,” concluded Ariel Kahana, a right-wing settler who is the senior diplomatic correspondent for Israel Hayom.
The newspaper is owned by the billionaire Republican donor Miriam Adelson; Ms. Adelson herself arranged the interview with Mr. Trump, according to a person with direct knowledge of the planning.
What had Mr. Trump said that so alarmed Mr. Kahana?He told the interviewers that Israel was losing public support for its Gaza assault, that the images of devastation were bad for Israel’s global image and that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should end his war soon — statements that sounded far more like something President Biden might say than the kind of cheerleading Mr. Netanyahu has come to expect from Washington Republicans.
“You have to finish up your war,” Mr. Trump said. “You have to get it done. We have to get to peace. We can’t have this going on.”
That statement apparently troubled Mr. Kahana even more than Mr. Biden’s warnings to Israel. Mr. Biden has called for a six-week cease-fire in exchange for Hamas releasing Israeli hostages. In the interview excerpts released by Israel Hayom, Mr. Trump did not qualify his call for Israel to finish the war by insisting on the release of hostages.
“Trump effectively bypassed Biden from the left, when he expressed willingness to stop this war and get back to being the great country you once were,” Mr. Kahana wrote. “There’s no way to beautify, minimize or cover up that problematic message.”
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@PitifulP0pul1stPatriot2yrs2Y
There was no war when Trump was president. He called back planes that were on their way to bomb Iran. He has suggested that Ukraine and Russia find a way to end their war. It seems his current call to end the war in the Middle East is consistent with his past behavior and statements. Trump seems to want to cut deals, not fight wars. He is also not beholden to the military industrial complex.
That Biden has a worse foreign policy than Trump is evident to everybody, except the ardent vote-blue crowd and the liberal mainstream media. This genocide in Gaza has gone on for far too long, and it is spreading around the Middle East because the US and Israel want a major regional war. Israel just bombed the Iranian embassy in Syria; it has killed hundreds of Lebanese in attacks since October 7, while the US is bombing the Houthis and groups in Iraq and Syria to deter anyone from opposing their Gaza policy.
How are these responsible policies? It isn't. This goes to show again, that… Read more
@ISIDEWITH2yrs2Y
@LizardAlexandraGreen2yrs2Y
Trump, despite his lack of curiosity, is a naster of manipulation. He wants to capitalize on the left’s dissatisfaction with Biden. Convince them to stay home or vote for him. Plus Trump doesn't like Netanyahu because Netanyahu dissed him when Bibi jumped ship to call Biden.
All of this means nothing for the well being of the Palestinians. Both Biden and Trump are terrible on the situation.
Listen to what John Bolton said. And that's a sad commentary on where we find ourselves today.
It seems obvious that Trump is trying to seduce the young, progressive, normally Democratic, pro-Palestinian contingent who are making noises (often loud noises) about withholding a vote for Biden to punish him for his continuing material support for Israel. I doubt that Trump knows or cares much one way or the other about the situation in the Middle East, except to the extent that he can exploit it to win votes in November. This and his recent flip-flop on TikTok are of a piece.
@MindfulLionGreen2yrs2Y
Trump is uninformed, manipulative and basically, doesn't care about anything but the entity he refers to as 'Trump'. It's how he has always been and always will be. He'll blab out whatever he thinks will get him votes at any particular moment.
What astonishes me is that so few people seem to notice. Or maybe they don't care either.
Even Trump realized early in his administration, that Netanyahu was content with the status quo regarding an independent Palestinian State. In other words that there never would be one. And Palestinians in charge of Hamas and the PA were also content to keep the question of a Palestinian State unresolved as a talking point or bargaining chip.
Trump also realizes that Netanyahu is under indictment, the war makes him (in his mind) indispensable and therefore protected, and prosecuting the war further, as it presently is, has no real strategic value. Just rubble and starving citizens.
That's why Trump is calling for an end to the current status. Also, Trump views hostages like he views prisoners of war. In his mind, they're not heroes, just suckers.
So now Israel is getting a taste of what New Yorkers have known for many years: Donald Trump wants what is good for Donald Trump. If he thinks he can get what he wants, he might make a gesture, but that’s all it is. Btw, to those who are rightly concerned about civilian deaths in Gaza, Trump doesn’t care about that either. Remember the Muslim ban?
Right now, he’s mainly trying to keep the evangelical vote. And in that regard, Israel, evangelicals don’t care about you either except as a tool for their belief in the “rapture”. They certainly don’t care about Jewish Americans.
Never Trump.
Netanyahu and Trump deserve each other. Both are only interested in their political survival, not what’s best for their countries. People in such a position tend to talk out both sides of their mouths, depending on which way the wind is blowing.
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