Staff Reports
In an angry speech to a crowd in Waterloo, Iowa, former President Donald Trump said that President Joe Biden was to blame for the recent attack on Israel by Hamas. In the honest way that Trump is known for, he said that the $6 billion in sanctions that were lifted as part of a prisoner trade in September had gone to Iran, which is known for funding Hamas. "I wouldn't be surprised if some of that huge wealth went toward watching all of this violence," Trump said, which made the crowd cheer.
Trump then said that these kinds of violent acts would have been quickly and successfully stopped if he had been in charge. In a jab at Vice President Biden, Trump said, "The U.S. is now seen as having a grossly corrupt and unelectable president." With the usual optimism that comes with Trump, he said that the war in Ukraine and China's attacks on Taiwan would never have happened while he was president.
That being said, Trump's claims were quickly shot down by the White House National Security Council. The NSC's Adriene Watson told the public in a statement that the $6 billion had not been used to pay for the Hamas war in any way. Watson also made it clear that the money was only meant to help people in need, like giving food and medicine to the people of Iran. In any case, Republican candidates used the $6 billion number to blame the Biden government. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said that Biden's easy policies toward Iran were giving them more money and making it easier for them to go to war with Israel.
President Biden called the attack by Hamas on Israel a "appalling assault" and called the group, which is backed by Iran, "terrorists." Someone might like Biden's tough words, but it's still unclear whether anything will happen afterward. Conservatives like Trump and DeSantis aren't sure, which makes people question Biden's ability to handle foreign affairs well.
