The former president says Sen. Chuck Schumer is now ‘like a Palestinian’
June 6, 2024
Former President Donald Trump complained in an interview with Fox News’s Sean Hannity about the Israel lobby not having as much influence over Congress as it once did and vowed he would be a staunch supporter of Israel if re-elected.
“You know, Israel was the most powerful lobby in the country 15 years ago. Today, between Tlaib and AOC, and all of these people, what they’re doing. Israel, they don’t have the backing that they once had,” Trump said.
Hannity asked if Trump would back Israel, and the former president replied, “I’m good, I’m good. But they don’t have the backing.” The former president then went on to claim Sen. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has become “like a Palestinian” over his calls for elections in Israel.
“Schumer, he’s become like a Palestinian. Chuck Schumer, Jewish, always strong for Israel. He’s become like a Palestinian,” Trump said.
Trump says Israel needs to finish bombarding Gaza more quickly. He says unnamed people are telling him the Oct. 7 attack never happened, just like Holocaust Deniers. He laments that the Israel Lobby is not powerful enough, and even Chuck Schumer has become “like a Palestinian” pic.twitter.com/yFu8nkCepG
— Michael Tracey (@mtracey) June 6, 2024
Trump made similar comments about Israel’s influence in Congress in an interview with Israel Hayom back in March. “Some 15 years ago, Israel had the strongest lobby. If you were a politician, you couldn’t say anything bad about Israel, that would be like the end of your political career,” he said.
In the Hannity interview, the former president also claimed there are people who deny Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel never happened. “I have people now telling me they don’t think the attack ever happened,” he said.
Trump also reiterated that he thinks Israel needs to “finish the job” in Gaza, signaling he would give Israel whatever it wants to continue its slaughter of Palestinians and the destruction of the Strip. “They have to finish the job. Israel has to finish that job, they have to finish it quickly, strongly,” he said. “It’s taking too long, they have to finish the job.”
When he was president, Trump was extremely pro-Israel and carried out policies to support Israeli claims to occupied land, which all played a role in escalating tensions between Israel and the Palestinians. His administration recognized the Golan Heights as Israeli territory and declared that illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank do not violate international law.
Trump’s administration moved the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and unveiled a so-called “peace plan” that would have seen Israel annex large swathes of the West Bank. Trump also brokered the Abraham Accords, deals that resulted in Israel normalizing ties with the UAE and Bahrain. Jared Kushner, who was Trump’s point man on Israel, recently said Gaza’s “waterfront property could be very valuable.”
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