The former US president criticizes Israel for publishing “the ugliest” videos of air strikes in Gaza.
Former US President Donald Trump warned that Israel is “losing the PR war” in Gaza due to the torrent of distressing images coming from the Strip.
in Interview Trump, along with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt, on Thursday criticized Israel for releasing “the ugliest” and “ugliest” videos of buildings destroyed in Israeli airstrikes in Gaza.
“And people imagine there's a lot of people in those buildings…and they don't like that, and I don't know why they would, you know, shoot shots like that in wartime,” Trump said.
“I think it makes them look strong. But to me, it doesn't make them look strong. They're losing the PR war. They're losing it big. But they've got to finish what they started, and they've got to finish it quickly, and we've got to get on with life.”
Asked if he was still with Israel “100 percent,” Trump did not answer directly, but said that Israel must end the war “quickly” and “return to normal life.”
“And I'm not sure I like the way they do it, because you have to have the victory. You have to achieve the victory, and that takes a long time.”
Trump described himself as the most pro-Israel president in the history of the United States, referring to his decision to move the American embassy to Jerusalem.
But Trump also strongly criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who angered Republicans when he acknowledged that US President Joe Biden was validly elected in 2020.
In an interview with the Israeli newspaper Israel Hayom last month, Trump issued a similar warning about Israel losing international support as the conflict continues.
Trump also criticized US President Joe Biden's policy on the Gaza war, going so far as to claim that Jews who vote for Democrats “hate Israel,” although he did not concretely explain how he would approach the conflict differently.
The White House said on Thursday that Biden warned Netanyahu in a phone call that continued US support for the war would depend on “specific, concrete, and measurable steps” to protect civilians.
Biden's warning, his strongest yet, came after the Israeli military killed seven aid workers at World Central Kitchen, including a US-Canadian citizen.