Former U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday blasted U.S. President Joe Biden for conditioning American military aid on Israel avoiding a ground offensive in Rafah, accusing him of siding with Hamas and “leading the world straight into World War III.”
In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump wrote: “Crooked Joe Biden, whether he knows it or not, just said he will withhold weapons from Israel as they fight to eradicate Hamas Terrorists in Gaza. Hamas murdered thousands of innocent civilians, including babies, and are still holding Americans hostage, if the hostages are still alive. Yet Crooked Joe is taking the side of these terrorists, just like he has sided with the Radical Mobs taking over our college campuses, because his donors are funding them.”
He went on to say that, “Biden is weak, corrupt, and leading the world straight into World War III. Remember—this war in Israel, just like the war in Ukraine, would have NEVER started if I was in the White House. But very soon, we will be back, and once again demanding PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH!”
Crooked Joe Biden, whether he knows it or not, just said he will withhold weapons from Israel as they fight to eradicate Hamas Terrorists in Gaza. Hamas murdered thousands of innocent civilians, including babies, and are still holding Americans hostage, if the hostages are still… pic.twitter.com/eyfYp7qnV2
— Donald J. Trump Posts From His Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) May 9, 2024
In a wide-ranging interview with Time magazine published at the end of April, Trump said he was no longer sure a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was feasible.
“Most people thought it was going to be a two-state solution. I’m not sure a two-state solution anymore is gonna work,” he said.
“There was a time when I thought two states could work. Now I think two states is going to be very, very tough. I think it’s going to be much tougher to get. I also think you have fewer people that liked the idea. You had a lot of people that liked the idea four years ago. Today, you have far fewer people that like that idea,” he added.
In the same interview, Trump pointed to his past criticisms of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying he “never forgot” how the prime minister “dropped out” of the U.S. attack that killed Iranian Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad four years ago.
He also said he “had a bad experience with Bibi” in 2020.
The Oct. 7 massacre, in which Hamas murdered some 1,200 people, “happened on [Netanyahu’s] watch,” said Trump, “And I think it’s had a profound impact on him, despite everything. Because people said that shouldn’t have happened. They [Israelis] have the most sophisticated equipment. They had—everything was there to stop that. And a lot of people knew about it, you know, thousands and thousands of people knew about it.”
Netanyahu “rightfully has been criticized” in connection with Oct. 7, he added.
In an interview with Israel Hayom in March, the former president said that he supported Israel’s defensive war against Hamas and that he would have responded to the Oct. 7 attack in a very similar way. At the same time, he warned that the longer the war dragged on, the worse things would get for Israel.
“You have to finish up your war. To finish it up. You gotta get it done. And, I am sure you will do that. And we gotta get to peace, we can’t have this going on. And I will say, Israel has to be very careful, because you’re losing a lot of the world, you’re losing a lot of support, you have to finish up, you have to get the job done. And you have to get on to peace, to get on to a normal life for Israel, and for everybody else,” he said.