In a recent interview with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt, former President Donald Trump expressed support for Israel but stopped short of committing to fully back their efforts in the ongoing conflict.
Trump suggested that Hamas’ attack on October 7 would not have occurred if he were still in office, and he urged Israel to swiftly conclude the conflict. While acknowledging his support for Israel and his role in achieving the Abraham Accords, Trump emphasized the need for Israel to “get it over with” and return to normalcy.
When pressed by Hewitt about whether he still stands with Israel 100%, Trump pointed out that Israel is losing the public relations war due to the destruction in Gaza. He criticized Israel for releasing videos of buildings collapsing, which he believes portrayed them in a negative light and contribute to their PR defeat.
While Trump emphasized the importance of achieving victory, he also urged Israel to avoid actions that could harm its image internationally. Despite his reservations about Israel’s approach, Trump maintained that they must finish what they started quickly to move forward.
Overall, Trump’s comments reflect a nuanced stance on Israel’s actions in the conflict, balancing support with concern over the impact on public perception.
“Well, that’s all the advice you can give. I mean, that’s the advice. You’ve got to get it over with, and you have to get back to normalcy,” Trump said. “And I’m not sure that I’m loving the way they’re doing it, because you’ve got to have victory. You have to have a victory, and it’s taking a long time. And the other thing is I hate, they put out tapes all the time. Every night, they’re releasing tapes of a building falling down. They shouldn’t be releasing tapes like that. They’re doing, that’s why they’re losing the PR war. They, Israel is absolutely losing the PR war.”
“They’re releasing the most heinous, most horrible tapes of buildings falling down. And people are imagining there’s a lot of people in those buildings, or people in those buildings, and they don’t like it. And I don’t know why they released, you know, wartime shots like that,” he said. “I guess it makes them look tough. But to me, it doesn’t make them look tough. 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 fast, and we have to get on with life.”
