WASHINGTON, DC: Donald Trump has drawn immense internet attention after claiming that if he was the US President, Israel ‘wouldn’t have had to be prepared’ for Hamas’ surprise attack that triggered an all-out war.
The 77-year-old former President also slammed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a clip from an interview with Fox News anchor Brian Kilmeade, suggesting that the leader wasn't ready for Hamas’ incursion.
The Palestinian militant organization caught Israel’s defense off guard with a barrage of nearly 2000 missiles and dozens of ground attacks that left at least 1200 Israelis dead and another 2,600 gravely injured.
Since then, Israeli officials have formally declared war against Palestine and have started bombarding the Gaza Strip, where they killed more than 700 Palestinians.
Why did Donald Trump slams Benjamin Netanyahu?
Speaking to Fox News, Trump, the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, slammed Netanyahu, claiming that he “has been hurt very badly” due to the attack.
“We have to protect Israel, there’s no choice,” he said, adding, “And why do we have to do it? [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu] has been hurt very badly because of what’s happened here. He was not prepared. He was not prepared and Israel was not prepared.”
Trump continued by claiming that the US would have discovered and stopped the Hamas attack in Israel if he had been elected president.
“And under Trump, they wouldn’t have had to be prepared,” he said, according to the NY Post.
“Who would have thought that their intelligence wouldn’t have been able to pick this up? Thousands of people were involved. Thousands of people knew about it and they let it slip by. That was not a good thing for [Netanyahu] or for anybody," Trump continued.
Internet reacts to Donald Trump’s claims
After Trump’s claims surfaced on the internet, several users slammed him for making the Israel-Palestine conflict about “himself”.
“Trump making the war ABOUT HIM. TYPICAL TRUMP FASHION,” one user commented under a clip of the interview, posted on Facebook.
“Making it all about him like usual,” a second user said. “I wonder why Trump normally acts like this,” the third user wrote.
“The worst president in America history has spoken!! We also saw how incompetent and flunked the COVID response!!” the fourth user asserted.
“Dear Trump, so many homeless people in your country.. they deserve more the money and your attn,” another user said.
“Once again, only Trump can solve problems. He didn't say how long it would take,” one more wrote.
Why did Donald Trump praise Iran-backed Hezbollah?
On Wednesday, October 11, Trump was addressing a crowd at a rally in West Palm Beach when he called Hezbollah “very smart” hours after the Lebanese-based terror group fired missiles at Israeli troops following Hamas’ attack.
He asserted that Hezbollah's attack was allegedly prompted by public criticism of Israel's weaknesses by the Biden administration and Israeli authorities.
“Two nights ago, I read all of Biden’s security people, can you imagine, national defense people, and they said, ‘Gee, I hope Hezbollah doesn’t attack from the north, because that’s the most vulnerable spot,’” Trump told the crowd.
“I said, ‘Wait a minute.’ You know, Hezbollah is very smart. They’re all very smart,” he further added.
Trump then appeared to claim that Israeli defense officials made the same mistake, in his view, prompting the attack.
“They have a national defense minister or somebody saying, ‘I hope Hezbollah doesn’t attack us from the north.’ So the following morning, they attacked,” he stated.
