In a Fox News segment on Tuesday morning, former President Donald Trump appeared to suggest that he is supportive of the genocidal extermination of Palestinians living in Gaza.
Israel’s brutal siege of Gaza has killed nearly 31,000 Palestinians since October 7 in what many international observers have called a textbook case of genocide. More than 4 in 10 of those killed have been children. Thousands more are missing, believed to be buried under the rubble left by Israel’s relentless and indiscriminate bombing campaign.
Despite these horrific outcomes, the Biden administration has been steadfast in its support for Israel. In recent days, however, perhaps due to pressure from progressive organizations against the genocide, the White House has attempted a shift in tone, with Vice President Kamala Harris calling for a temporary pause to the bombing which she misleadingly characterized as a “ceasefire.”
As “Super Tuesday” was starting, Fox News invited Trump to appear via telephone on its “Fox and Friends” program to discuss myriad issues, including Israel’s attacks on Palestinians in Gaza. Host Brian Kilmeade, noting that much of the criticism against President Joe Biden is from people on the left who are disgusted by his administration’s staunch support of Israel’s bombing and starvation campaign, suggested that those critics “won’t like [Trump] either.”
Kilmeade then asked Trump: “Are you on-board with the way the [Israel Defense Force] is taking the fight to Gaza?”
Trump’s response seemed to suggest that he supported the genocide of people living in Gaza. “You’ve got to finish the problem,” he said.
In additional comments regarding Israel’s attacks, Trump appeared unwilling to differentiate between the governing body of Hamas and the Palestinian population more generally. He went on to claim that, were he still president, the October 7 attack never would have happened, and that Hamas only attacked Israel because of Biden’s purported weakness.
“They wouldn’t have done it to me, I guarantee you that,” Trump added.
There is no evidence that the Hamas-led attacks on October 7 could have been prevented by a Trump presidency. In fact, there are multiple examples of Hamas and the IDF targeting one another during Trump’s time in office.
Trump’s comments on Gaza are the latest in a number of fascistic and authoritarian statements he has made in recent days. He has also called his political enemies “vermin,” described immigrants as “poisoning the blood” of the country, and vowed to be a dictator on his first day of office.
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