Secrets of Silence… Why doesn’t Trump talk much about Gaza?
Former U.S. President Donald Trump‘s approach to the conflict in Gaza reflects a rejection of intervention, which he introduced into Republican Party policy and his feelings towards Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
According to the American newspaper “The New York Times,” the Gaza war ignited the most
controversial foreign policy crisis in the Biden presidency, as Donald J. Trump said little about the issue.
Trump initially criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before quickly retracting to make statements expressing his support for Israel. He also made sensational claims that Hamas’s attack would not have occurred if he were president.
The newspaper noted that Trump‘s approach of not intervening in the bloody conflict in the Middle East reflects a deep-seated shift against intervention, which the former president introduced into the Republican Party over the past eight years.
It suggested that Trump‘s desire to distance himself from the conflict in Gaza is influenced by his feelings towards Netanyahu, who congratulated President Joe Biden on his victory in the 2020 elections, an act that Trump may never forgive.
Trump did not direct any criticism towards Biden‘s response to Hamas’s attack and Israeli retaliation in Gaza. Instead, he placed blame for the crisis entirely on Biden‘s “weakness,” in the same way he often does with acts of violence or tragedy.
Close associates of Trump, who leads Biden in presidential polls, say they are not overly concerned about outlining foreign policy plans, whether regarding Israel or any other issue. They argue that when it comes to supporting Israel, Trump‘s advisors see it as unquestionable.
Caroline Levitt, spokeswoman for Trump‘s campaign, insists that “the former president did more for Israel than any American president in history and took historic action in the Middle East that led to unprecedented peace.”
She added, “When President Trump returns to the Oval Office, Israel will be protected once again, Iran will be deterred again, terrorists will be hunted down, and bloodshed will stop.”
The newspaper points out that Trump faced no opposition within his party regarding his stance on Israel and Gaza. In contrast, the Democratic Party is witnessing internal strife over the war in Gaza, as Biden faced protest votes in the primaries in Michigan on Tuesday to pressure him to change his approach there.
Among voters aged 18 to 29, who were crucial for Democratic success in recent years, nearly three-quarters did not approve of Biden‘s handling of the war in Gaza.
Trump‘s election campaign and supporters are expected to exploit this division to their advantage. One idea being discussed among Trump allies as a means to deepen the rift within the Democratic Party is to run ads in densely populated areas in Michigan thanking Biden for “standing with Israel,” according to two people familiar with the plans.
On the other hand, the newspaper says Trump exploited the shock of Israelis from Hamas’s attack to settle his personal scores with Netanyahu.
On October 11th, Trump publicly attributed Hamas’s attack to Netanyahu‘s lack of preparedness and praised the Lebanese Hezbollah armed group as “extremely smart.”
He then launched another, more intense attack on Netanyahu when he claimed that Israel was about to participate in the killing of former Iranian Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani, but withdrew from the plan at the last moment.
The newspaper indicates that what happened afterward, behind the scenes, was somewhat contrary, with Trump‘s advisors and close allies describing his public criticism of Netanyahu as unintentional.
Trump‘s advisors urged the former president to issue a statement clarifying his support for Netanyahu and Israel’s right to defend itself, according to two people directly familiar with the matter.
Among the people who urged Trump to issue the support statement was David Friedman, Washington’s former ambassador to Israel under the previous president, which Trump did by retracting his later statements and posting a statement on social media expressing his support for Netanyahu and Israel.
He also proposed expanding his administration’s travel ban on Muslim-majority countries to include Palestinian refugees from Gaza.
As a way of trying to mend fences with Netanyahu, Trump pledged, in a speech delivered on October 28th to the Republican Jewish Coalition, unwavering support for Israel against Hamas and promised to defend the country against what he called “barbarians, savages, and fascists trying to harm Israel.”
