US President Joe Biden and former US President Donald Trump at a presidential debate in Atlanta, June 27, 2024. Photo: Reuters Connect
Former US President Donald Trump lambasted incumbent President Joe Biden’s approach to the Israel-Hamas war during Thursday night’s presidential debate in Atlanta, claiming that Biden has “become like a Palestinian.”
During the debate, CNN anchor Dana Bash pressed Biden on how he plans to use his leverage to wind down the ongoing war in Gaza, where the Israeli military has been waging a military campaign against Hamas following the Palestinian terrorist group’s Oct. 7 massacre across southern Israel. Biden touted the specifics of his administration’s “three-phase plan” to secure the release of the remaining hostages in Gaza and enact a permanent “ceasefire.”
Biden highlighted his decision to deny Israel a shipment of 2,000-pound bombs, claiming they “don’t work well in populated areas” and that they “kill a lot of innocent people.” The Biden administration has blocked transfers of these weapons over frustrations stemming from Israeli military operations in the city of Rafah in southern Gaza, a step that Israel insists is necessary to dismantle the remaining Hamas battalions.
The incumbent president insisted that Hamas, which launched the ongoing war in Gaza by invading southern Israel and slaughtering over 1,200 people there on Oct. 7, has already been “greatly weakened” and that Israel needs to exercise restraint when “using certain weapons on population centers.”
“The only one who wants the war to continue is Hamas,” Biden declared.
Trump responded by asserting that Israel also wants to continue the war and that the Biden administration should “let them finish the job.”
“He [Biden] has become like a Palestinian. But, they don’t like him because he is a very bad Palestinian,” Trump continued.
Israel has said it is committed to freeing the remaining hostages kidnapped by Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7 and to dismantling the military and governing capabilities of Hamas, which rules neighboring Gaza.
Trump also stated that his former administration’s approach to Iran, the chief international sponsor of Hamas, made Israel safer.
“Israel would have never been invaded in a million years by Hamas. You know why? Because Iran was broke with me,” Trump said, referring to the economic sanctions regime that his administration imposed on Iran. “I wouldn’t let anybody do business with them. They ran out of money. They were broke. They had no money for Hamas. They had no money for anything. No money for terror.”
Harsh US sanctions levied on Iran under Trump, who withdrew from the landmark 2015 nuclear deal with between the Iranian regime and world powers, crippled the Iranian economy and led its foreign exchange reserves to plummet. Trump and his Republican supporters in the US Congress have criticized Biden, a Democrat, for renewing billions of dollars in US sanctions waivers, which had the effect of unlocking frozen funds and allowing the country to access previously inaccessible hard currency.
The Iranian regime is the world’s foremost state sponsor of terrorism, devoting significant sums of money each year to supporting proxies across the Middle East.
Biden, who initially expressed strong support for Israel in the aftermath of the Oct. 7 atrocities, has adopted a tougher posture toward the Jewish state’s war effort amid mounting pressure from fellow Democrats and progressive groups. Expressing concern over civilian casualties, Biden has called on Israel to pursue a ceasefire and avoid pursuing the remaining Hamas battalions in Rafah.
Meanwhile, Trump has sent mixed signals regarding his stance on the Israel-Hamas war. During an interview with the Israeli newspaper Israel Hayom earlier this year, Trump urged Israel to “finish up your war” and “get on to peace.” In that same interview, Trump said that the Jewish state was creating “a very bad picture for the world.” During an April campaign rally, Trump nodded in approval to his audience chanting “Genocide Joe,” a nickname many progressives have pinned on Biden to signal their disapproval of his handling of the war in Gaza. Trump responded, “They’re not wrong, they’re not wrong. He’s done everything wrong.”
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