On Saturday, Donald Trump stood out among Republican presidential candidates when he offered an initial statement that was relatively noninterventionist in reaction to the Hamas attack that occurred that day. But, later on Saturday, Trump, speaking at a campaign event in Waterloo, Iowa, confirmed that he, just like the rest of the field, is committed to advancing the United States government supporting Israel in the rising conflict.
At the campaign rally Trump commented:
The Hamas terrorist invasion of Israel territory, Israeli territory, and the murder of Israeli soldiers today and the brutal murder of citizens is an act of savagery that must and will be crushed — has to be, it has to be dealt with very powerfully. This is a time where the United States needs leadership. We don’t have leadership. But, Israel is at war, and the United States obviously is going to stick with Israel, and strongly.
Oh well, it took less than 24 hours for Trump to shut the door on a noninterventionist approach. In this important area of foreign policy, Trump is failing to live up to his apparent effort to run as the peace candidate in the Republican presidential primary.
Reprinted with permission from the Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity.