Two Israeli right-wing journalists journeyed to Palm Beach, Florida, aiming to interview former President Donald Trump, anticipating his backing for Israel’s conflict with Hamas. However, their dialogue at Mar-a-Lago left them “shocked,” as per Jonathan Swan’s report in The New York Times.
Swan stated that Miriam Adelson, a billionaire GOP donor, facilitated the interview. Ariel Kahana, one of the journalists involved, described by Swan as “a right-wing settler and senior diplomatic correspondent for Israel Hayom,” a newspaper owned by Adelson, conveyed that Trump’s remarks left them deeply unsettled.
Trump’s comments, as relayed by Swan, suggested concern over Israel’s diminishing public support for its Gaza offensive and advocated for a prompt conclusion to the conflict. Kahana found Trump’s stance more disconcerting than Biden’s calls for a ceasefire, particularly as Trump did not emphasize the release of Israeli hostages, unlike Biden.
Swan’s article highlighted a growing divide between Trump and congressional Republicans, who vie to exhibit staunch support for Netanyahu’s government. Trump’s remarks also raised questions about his motivation, with Swan suggesting lingering resentment toward Netanyahu for acknowledging Biden’s victory in the 2020 election.
[Trump] told the interviewers that Israel was losing public support for its Gaza assault, that the images of devastation were bad for Israel’s global image and that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should end his war soon — statements that sounded far more like something President Biden might say than the kind of cheerleading Mr. Netanyahu has come to expect from Washington Republicans.
“You have to finish up your war,” Mr. Trump said. “You have to get it done. We have to get to peace. We can’t have this going on.”
That statement apparently troubled Mr. Kahana even more than Mr. Biden’s warnings to Israel. Mr. Biden has called for a six-week cease-fire in exchange for Hamas releasing Israeli hostages. In the interview excerpts released by Israel Hayom, Mr. Trump did not qualify his call for Israel to finish the war by insisting on the release of hostages.
“Trump effectively bypassed Biden from the left, when he expressed willingness to stop this war and get back to being the great country you once were,” Mr. Kahana wrote. “There’s no way to beautify, minimize or cover up that problematic message.”
