From the Liveblog of
Monday, August 26, 2024
Trump ad meant to highlight tough Mideast stance appears to criticize Israeli response to Oct. 7
A new attack ad from US Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump seeks to put an exclamation point on his oft-repeated claim that the October 7 attack would not have happened with him in charge thanks to his tough stance vis-a-vis Iran while president, but seems to stumble along the way.
The video opens with footage of Israel bombing Gaza run in reverse, which appears as a voiceover intones “Before thousands were brutally killed, including Americans,” which would normally be seen as a reference to devastation in Gaza, given the footage and toll of “thousands.”
But despite appearing to criticize Israel’s war against the Hamas terror group, the line is more likely a hamfisted reference to Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel, in which some 1,200 people were killed, given Trump’s political positions and the theme of the ad.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 26, 2024
The ad, which does not ever directly reference the October 7 attack, goes on to point a finger at Iran for allegedly helping plan the Hamas attack and at US President Joe Biden for agreeing to unfreeze billions of dollars for Tehran.
The ad claims “Trump played hardball with Iran,” and that he ensured the Mideast remain peaceful while keeping the US “out of endless wars,” over a picture of him meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
It closes with a recording of Trump threatening “When I’m back in the White House, our enemies will know, if you spill a drop of American blood, we will spill a gallon of yours.”
