[Salon] In Iowa Victory Speech, Trump Says Hamas Would Not Have Attacked Israel if He Were President - Israel News - Haaretz.com

[Todd Pierce <todd.e.pierce@icloud.com>]

Title: In Iowa Victory Speech, Trump Says Hamas Would Not Have Attacked Israel if He Were President - Israel News - Haaretz.com

As a short answer to this question, https://responsiblestatecraft.org/biden-israel-gaza/

Who’s the Superpower Around Here?

By Patrick Theros - January 12, 2024,

and not as a defense of Biden. But everyone knows this is nonsense, in 2024 during a Presidential campaign against the “Israel First” Republican Party and even more with its front-runner Donald Trump. Who stand ready and eager to crucify anyone who obstructs in the least, all-out support for Israeli Fascism, as the Republican Party has made itself full partner to. 

Making this laughable, after the example of Obama and Congressional Republicans all-out support of Netanyahu, and what happened to the JCPOA:

"A firm public demand to cease and desist immediately would have enormous domestic political repercussions in Israel -- far less in the United States. Biden would not have to publicly threaten to cut off weapons deliveries; a few words delivered in private to Netanyahu and a few members of his war cabinet would probably suffice. Most of Netanyahu's government would desert him. Even the most hawkish of the Israeli Defense Force leadership would not want to test an American president’s resolve. Netanyahu's refusal would accelerate the departure of secular Israelis from the country -- as would many Haredim, especially those who hold U.S. passports.”

The “powerful lobby” in today’s case, is the Republican Party and its POTUS candidates, and ready to replace Biden very soon. Making everyone aware that this is sheer nonsense, when Trump/DeSantis/Haley is on hand to pressure Biden from doing “anything he wants,” even if it did include stopping Israel from continuing its genocide. 

Further quoting RS: "A decisive American president can do anything he wants, whether or not a powerful lobby opposes him.” 

Not when that “lobby” represents the opposing party, of about equal or greater strength, as does Trump and the Republicans, and is co-belligerent with Israel in its genocide, even more zealously than is Biden! 

https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2024-01-16/ty-article/trump-projected-iowa-caucus-winner-staking-early-claim-to-republican-nomination/0000018d-0fe5-db13-affd-7fe5f2bc0000

In Iowa Victory Speech, Trump Says Hamas Would Not Have Attacked Israel if He Were President - Israel News - Haaretz.com

Ben SamuelsJan 16, 2024 3:36 am IST

Donald Trump secured a resounding victory in the first 2024 Republican presidential contest in Iowa on Monday, asserting his dominance over the party despite a litany of legal troubles as he seeks a rematch with Democratic President Joe Biden.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis finished well behind in second place, Edison Research projected, edging out former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley as they battle to emerge as the chief alternative to Trump.

• Trump's Republican rivals spar over Israel, antisemitism at Iowa debate
• As Iowa caucuses kick off, GOP candidates Haley, DeSantis use Israel and Gaza as a cudgel

Trump was poised to win by an unprecedented margin for an Iowa Republican contest, strengthening his case that his nomination is a foregone conclusion given his massive lead in national polls even though he faces four criminal indictments.

In his victory speech on Monday night, the former president again claimed that "Israel never would have been attacked" if he had been president on October 7.

"The Israeli situation is so horrible, what's happened," Trump said after securing victory in the first 2024 Republican presidential contest in Iowa. Trump said that, as president, he would "get it solved very fast."

Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump takes the stage during his Iowa caucus night watch party in Des Moines, Iowa, U.S. on Monday night.Credit: Evelyn Hockstein / Reuters

The former president pinned blame for the Hamas atrocity on Iran, saying that, "It all comes from Iran. We would have had a deal with Iran very quickly" if he was still president.

"Iran was broke," Trump added. "I said to every country, 'If anyone does business with Iran, buys oil from Iran' – they were broke – 'we're not gonna let you do business in the United States, and that's the way it is'."

According to Trump, Iran "had no money to give to Hamas and Hezbollah."

"For four years, we had no terror," he claimed. "We had the terror ban. They called it the Trump travel ban, but it was really the Trump terror ban. We don't want people in our country that are going to blow up our shopping centers, thank you very much."

Vivek Ramaswamy, who previously called for ending U.S. military assistance to Israel while expressing skepticism about its war in Gaza, suspended his campaign after finishing a distant fourth.

Ramaswamy has been perhaps the most vocal skeptic of America's backing of the war among Republicans, finding himself at stark odds with the predominantly hawkish GOP Jewish establishment.

Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy speaks during the Republican Jewish Coalition's Annual Leadership Summit in Las Vegas on Saturday.Credit: Ethan Miller/Getty Images via AFP

He differed from other GOP contenders on issues like antisemitism, describing it as a "symptom of a deeper cancer in America." He argued "ignorant" pro-Palestinian college students need leadership instead of censorship, which would "create a worse underbelly."

Ramaswamy further called on Israel to avoid the "neocon mistakes of America's past" while encouraging Israel not to rely on anyone else.