Former President Trump on Monday marked the anniversary of the Hamas terrorist attacks on Israel with a pair of appearances to express solidarity with the Jewish people.
Trump began the day with a meeting with Orthodox Jews in New York City to attend a memorial event. He traveled to one of his properties near Miami in the evening for a remembrance event to mark one year since the Hamas attacks that killed more than 1,200 Israelis.
In his remarks, Trump repeatedly condemned the rise in antisemitism that followed the Oct. 7 attacks and swiped at the Biden administration, suggesting their "weakness" on the world stage was to blame for the Hamas attack. He made no mention of Gaza or the tens of thousands of Palestinians who have died there amid Israeli's military campaign in the past year.
“The past few years have proven that weakness only begets violence and war. It’s weakness, but it’s also — there’s a lot of hatred going around also. Not just weakness. There’s a lot of hatred on a certain side,” Trump said.
“We were strong, we were powerful, we were respected like this country has not been respected in many, many decades just four years ago,” he continued. “That’s what I intend to deliver as the 47th president of the United States.”
Trump suggested that peace in the Middle East was “within our reach,” but required the right leadership from the United States.
“With strength and the right leadership, the dawn of a new more harmonious middle east is finally within our reach,” he said. “But you have no idea the role that the United States has to play in order to get that ball over the goal line.”
Trump has repeatedly touted himself as a pro-Israel president, citing his decision to relocate the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem, his recognition of the Golan Heights territory and the Abraham Accords, which normalized relations between Israel and several Arab nations.
But the former president has also drawn backlash for attacking Jewish voters who do not support him. He has suggested Jews who back Democrats should “have their head examined,” and he recently posited that Jewish voters would be partly to blame if he does not win in November.
