Donald Trump’s criticism of Benjamin Netanyahu in the aftermath of the Hamas attacks has drawn strong rebukes from politicians across the US political spectrum. This could potentially impact his 2024 campaign for another term in the White House. Trump made several comments about the Middle East conflict last week, including praising Hizbollah, an Iran-backed terrorist organization, as “very smart,” and criticizing Netanyahu for being unprepared for the attacks. His remarks have sparked criticism from fellow Republicans and provided an unexpected opportunity for Joe Biden to criticize his predecessor for abandoning Israel during this difficult time.
While foreign policy typically plays a minor role in US presidential elections, it may gain increased prominence as the US deals with geopolitical turmoil, from the Ukraine conflict to tensions with China and the ongoing Middle East crisis. Biden, in response to Trump’s remarks, emphasized his unwavering support for Israel and criticized the former president for praising terrorists.
Trump’s Middle East policy, which consistently aligned with Israel on sensitive issues, garnered favor from conservative Jewish and Evangelical Christian voters during his presidency. He notably relocated the US embassy to Jerusalem and recognized it as Israel’s capital, a move that led to strained relations with the Palestinians. Trump also supported Israel on matters such as borders, refugees, and Israeli settlements in his administration’s unsuccessful peace plan. Netanyahu ultimately agreed not to annex the West Bank in exchange for normalizing relations with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Morocco through the Abraham Accords negotiated by the Trump administration.
Biden has continued efforts to normalize relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia and has received criticism from Republicans for his Iran policy and a recent prisoner exchange with Tehran. However, he has garnered praise from some right-wing critics for his support of Netanyahu during the Hamas attacks. Trump’s criticism of Netanyahu has been surprising, as widespread support for Israel still exists among Americans, although it has been declining among Democrats prior to the recent assault.
A recent poll showed that nearly two-thirds of Americans believe the US government should publicly support Israel, and a majority from both parties support public US backing of Israel. However, a recent ABC/Ipsos poll indicated that only 41% of Americans approve of Biden’s handling of the Israel-Hamas conflict.
So far, Biden has not faced significant backlash from the left within the Democratic party for his pro-Israel stance. However, if civilian casualties increase significantly in Gaza due to Israel’s anticipated ground offensive, Biden may face criticism from some Democrats who believe he has been too quick to defend Netanyahu. Currently, Trump finds himself on the defensive in the US political fallout from the Middle East war, having released a statement late Thursday defending his record on Israel and suggesting that with him back in office, Israel and others will be safe again.
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