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It’s hardly a secret that President Joe Biden has received criticism from the left for his administration’s support for Israel’s government during its ongoing efforts in Gaza. That said, as we’ve discussed, the Democratic president has taken a variety of steps that might help mitigate the condemnations.
It was, after all, Biden and his team that shielded Palestinians in the United States from deportation, approved aid drops into Gaza, denounced Israel’s expansion of settlements in the West Bank, began construction of a port on Gaza’s Mediterranean coast to receive humanitarian assistance by sea, warned Netanyahu’s government not to launch an assault on Rafah, and overseen diplomatic efforts to negotiate a sustained cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war.
These steps do not appear to have had much of an effect deterring the White House’s critics from the left, and it’s not unreasonable to wonder about the political implications with Election Day 2024 on the horizon.
In theory, Donald Trump might recognize the electoral opportunity and try to appeal to those who disapprove on the incumbent president’s Israel/Gaza policy from the left. In practice, the former president has an unsubtle message for Biden’s critics: If given the chance, the Republican intends to be vastly worse.
The Biden White House, for example, acknowledged this week that it is, as the Associated Press reported, “weighing measures to help Palestinians living in the United States who want to bring family from the war-torn region.”
Soon after, as Reuters reported, the presumptive GOP nominee shared his thoughts on the subject at a campaign rally.
“Your towns and villages will now be accepting people from Gaza and various other places,” Trump said, eliciting boos from the crowd. “Under no circumstances shall we bring thousands of refugees.” Last week, Trump described the pro-Palestinian protests as driven by “tremendous hate” while asserting that the violence at a 2017 white nationalist rally with some Trump supporters in Charlottesville, Virginia, when he was president was small by comparison.
Note, at one of his campaign events yesterday, Trump appeared to goad his followers in Wisconsin into booing Palestinian refugees.
At the same event, the former president also vowed to restore and expand the Muslim ban he imposed during his first term.
Also in recent days, Trump celebrated police officers clearing out pro-Palestinian protesters — it was “a beautiful thing to watch,” the Republican said — and urged university presidents to “vanquish the radicals.”
The former president also endorsed ongoing Israeli military operations, saying, “We have to let Israel complete their war on terror. It’s a horrible thing, but they have to do it.” Trump added that Israel must “clean out the cancer.”
Let’s also not forget a New York Times report from March that said top members of Trump’s team want to expel Palestinians from Gaza.
It’s as if the Republican is going out of his way to alienate voters who, given their frustrations with Biden’s policy, might be inclined to give Trump a second look.