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Trump Says Biden Has ‘Become Like a Palestinian,’ Calls on Incumbent to Let Israel ‘Finish the Job’ in Gaza
US President Joe Biden and former US President Donald Trump at a presidential debate in Atlanta, June 27, 2024. Photo: Reuters Connect
Former US President Donald Trump lambasted incumbent President Joe Biden’s approach to the Israel-Hamas war during Thursday night’s presidential debate in Atlanta, claiming that Biden has “become like a Palestinian.”
During the debate, CNN anchor Dana Bash pressed Biden on how he plans to use his leverage to wind down the ongoing war in Gaza, where the Israeli military has been waging a military campaign against Hamas following the Palestinian terrorist group’s Oct. 7 massacre across southern Israel. Biden touted the specifics of his administration’s “three-phase plan” to secure the release of the remaining hostages in Gaza and enact a permanent “ceasefire.”
Biden highlighted his decision to deny Israel a shipment of 2,000-pound bombs, claiming they “don’t work well in populated areas” and that they “kill a lot of innocent people.” The Biden administration has blocked transfers of these weapons over frustrations stemming from Israeli military operations in the city of Rafah in southern Gaza, a step that Israel insists is necessary to dismantle the remaining Hamas battalions.
The incumbent president insisted that Hamas, which launched the ongoing war in Gaza by invading southern Israel and slaughtering over 1,200 people there on Oct. 7, has already been “greatly weakened” and that Israel needs to exercise restraint when “using certain weapons on population centers.”
“The only one who wants the war to continue is Hamas,” Biden declared.
Trump responded by asserting that Israel also wants to continue the war and that the Biden administration should “let them finish the job.”
“He [Biden] has become like a Palestinian. But, they don’t like him because he is a very bad Palestinian,” Trump continued.
Israel has said it is committed to freeing the remaining hostages kidnapped by Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7 and to dismantling the military and governing capabilities of Hamas, which rules neighboring Gaza.
Trump also stated that his former administration’s approach to Iran, the chief international sponsor of Hamas, made Israel safer.
“Israel would have never been invaded in a million years by Hamas. You know why? Because Iran was broke with me,” Trump said, referring to the economic sanctions regime that his administration imposed on Iran. “I wouldn’t let anybody do business with them. They ran out of money. They were broke. They had no money for Hamas. They had no money for anything. No money for terror.”
Harsh US sanctions levied on Iran under Trump, who withdrew from the landmark 2015 nuclear deal with between the Iranian regime and world powers, crippled the Iranian economy and led its foreign exchange reserves to plummet. Trump and his Republican supporters in the US Congress have criticized Biden, a Democrat, for renewing billions of dollars in US sanctions waivers, which had the effect of unlocking frozen funds and allowing the country to access previously inaccessible hard currency.
The Iranian regime is the world’s foremost state sponsor of terrorism, devoting significant sums of money each year to supporting proxies across the Middle East.
Biden, who initially expressed strong support for Israel in the aftermath of the Oct. 7 atrocities, has adopted a tougher posture toward the Jewish state’s war effort amid mounting pressure from fellow Democrats and progressive groups. Expressing concern over civilian casualties, Biden has called on Israel to pursue a ceasefire and avoid pursuing the remaining Hamas battalions in Rafah.
Meanwhile, Trump has sent mixed signals regarding his stance on the Israel-Hamas war. During an interview with the Israeli newspaper Israel Hayom earlier this year, Trump urged Israel to “finish up your war” and “get on to peace.” In that same interview, Trump said that the Jewish state was creating “a very bad picture for the world.” During an April campaign rally, Trump nodded in approval to his audience chanting “Genocide Joe,” a nickname many progressives have pinned on Biden to signal their disapproval of his handling of the war in Gaza. Trump responded, “They’re not wrong, they’re not wrong. He’s done everything wrong.”
The post Trump Says Biden Has ‘Become Like a Palestinian,’ Calls on Incumbent to Let Israel ‘Finish the Job’ in Gaza first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.