Trump Praised Netanyahu in Call After One of Israel’s Worst Attacks
“Do what you have to do,” Donald Trump told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Despite his recent overtures to Muslim and Arab American voters, Donald Trump privately encouraged Benjamin Netanyahu in a phone call earlier this month to “do what you have to do.”
The Washington Post reported Friday the former president told the Israeli prime minister that he supported Israel’s brutal bombing campaigns in Gaza and Lebanon, according to six anonymous sources. Trump himself has said that he has spoken to Netanyahu at least twice this month, with one phone conversation occurring as recently as Saturday.
According to Senator Lindsey Graham, Trump was especially impressed by Israel expanding its war to Lebanon, and told Netanyahu as much.
“He didn’t tell him what to do militarily, but he expressed that he was impressed by the pagers,” said Graham, who was on a call with Trump and Netanyahu earlier this month, referring to the Israeli attack on Hezbollah last month that used explosive batteries inside pagers. Those explosions killed dozens and injured more than 3,000.
“He expressed his awe for their military operations and what they have done,” Graham added. “He told them, do what you have to do to defend yourself, but we’re openly talking about a new Mideast. Trump understands that very much there has to be change with the corrupt Palestinian state.”
This would seem to contradict what Trump has said in recent weeks in his overtures to Muslim and Arab American voters. At a rally in North Carolina earlier this week, he spoke about how Dick Cheney brought war to the Middle East and killed “many many Arabs,” and took a shot at Cheney’s daughter Liz, who is campaigning with Kamala Harris in Michigan, home to a large population of Arab Americans.
“Why would Muslims support lyin’ Kamala Harris, when she embraces Muslim-hating—and very dumb person—Liz Cheney?” Trump asked the crowd.
Trump’s efforts have borne fruit with Arab Americans, with a recent poll showing him with a narrow lead over Harris with the community. Liz Cheney’s campaign visits to Michigan have not helped, with many of the state’s Arab and Muslim communities, including its 90,000 strong Iraqi-American population, remembering her father’s support for the Iraq War and her reputation for supporting torture and anti-Muslim bigotry.
But Trump’s calls to Netanyahu and praise for Israel’s brutal war—which has killed more than 42,00 Palestinians in Gaza since last year, and at least 1,580 people in Lebanon since September 23—contradict any promises or rhetoric he’s offering to Arab and Muslim voters. Just as Harris has not promised any meaningful deviation from the Biden administration’s unconditional support of Israel, if Trump returns to the White House, he too is likely to continue enabling Netanyahu’s wars. It seems Arab and Muslim voters, as well as others who want to see an end to Israel’s brutal actions, are left with little to hope for in this election.