Trump has long boasted of doing more for Israel than any other U.S. president. (document)
When Israel’s war with Hamas began in October, Donald Trump loudly declared himself the ultimate defender of America’s key allies.
But six months later, with more than 33,000 people dead in Gaza, the Republican White House hopeful is becoming increasingly vague about the strength of that support.
The former US president is not usually known for staying silent on any particular topic, and he has only made half-hearted comments on the issue in his two recent interviews.
“I’m not sure I like what they’re doing,” he told a conservative radio host on Thursday about Israel’s offensive.
In an exchange with Israeli media, Trump warned that the video of “throwing bombs on buildings in Gaza” “gives the world a very bad picture.”
“Israel is absolutely going to lose the PR battle,” the 77-year-old told radio host Hugh Hewitt.
historical allies
Despite hinting at his concerns, Trump did not explicitly mention the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where experts warn of looming famine, the death toll among Palestinian civilians, or the seven aid workers killed in an Israeli drone strike on Monday.
Still, any comments critical of Israel are a significant shift in hopes for a Republican White House, and his comments have drawn attention from Israel and Washington.
Trump has long boasted of doing more for Israel than any other U.S. president.
In 2018, his administration reversed decades of U.S. policy and unilaterally recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and moved the U.S. embassy there from Tel Aviv, thereby snubbing key principles of an eventual two-state solution with the Palestinians. met with strong opposition from the international community.
By the end of his term, the United States brokered the so-called Abraham Accords, in which Arab countries, including the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, normalized relations with Israel.
This move further removes the need to resolve the Palestinian issue – at least temporarily.
“expert”
But it’s unclear whether the billionaire’s shift in tone since Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on Israel on Oct. 7 that sparked the war in Gaza will be tied to any real changes in policy if he is re-elected as president in November. .
“No one is entirely sure how Trump feels about this,” Danielle Pletka, a senior fellow at the conservative think tank AEI, told AFP. She added that his recent comments sounded more like From a “media consultant,” not an Oval Office candidate.
“It’s not the president, it’s not the policy – it’s more the authority,” she said.
For some observers, Trump’s noncommittal approach is best explained by the conflict’s high stakes in the U.S. election as he battles for votes with President Joe Biden – who faces increasing scrutiny over his handling of the crisis. More and more criticism is coming.
The otherwise outspoken Trump has adopted the same strategy of deliberate ambiguity on other hot-button issues, including abortion, realizing that taking extreme positions on either side could cost him dearly in the polls. cost.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
