“If we don’t win, there will be big wars in the Middle East and maybe World War III,” Donald Trump said during his meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Former US President Donald Trump has warned of “World War III” in a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if his Republican Party does not win the presidential election. “If we win, everything will be a lot easier. Then everything will work faster,” Trump said as he welcomed Netanyahu and his wife to his Florida estate on Friday. “If we don’t win, there will be major wars in the Middle East and maybe World War III.”
The meeting with Trump was Netanyahu’s last stop on his US tour. On Wednesday, he defended Israel’s actions in the war with radical Islamist Hamas in the Gaza Strip before Congress in Washington. On Thursday, he met with President Joe Biden and Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris.
The reception at Trump’s Florida estate was overwhelming. The Republican presidential candidate posed for photos with a thumbs up. In a photo released by Netanyahu, the head of the government in the Gaza war is holding a peaked hat with the words “total victory”. Trump lashed out at his political opponents from the Democratic Party on Friday. “Our country is run by incompetents,” he said. Harris, Trump’s opponent in the November presidential election, is even worse than Biden.
There is no public demand on Netanyahu
Trump made no public demands on Netanyahu on Friday, in contrast to Democrats who have called on Netanyahu to call for a cease-fire given the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip. As president, Trump’s campaign team said in a statement after the meeting that the Republican Party will do everything in its power to bring peace to the Middle East and fight anti-Semitism in American universities. On Thursday, the former president called on the Israeli head of government to “quickly end” the Gaza war in an interview with Fox News.
Republicans greeted Netanyahu with applause and cheers during his speech to the US Congress on Wednesday, while Democrats clearly recoiled. In his speech, Israeli Prime Minister Trump personally thanked him for “everything he has done for Israel.” The United States has provided military and diplomatic support to its close ally Israel since the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on the country on October 7. However, there have been repeated irritations and disagreements between the two governments over Israel’s military actions. (APA/AFP)
