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President Donald Trump said Friday that Israel’s support in Congress and around the world has declined in recent years.
In an interview with The Daily Caller, Trump said that because of left-wing U.S. politicians rallying against Israel and the growing unpopularity of its war in Gaza, the country is losing influence.
“Israel, you would understand this very much, Israel was the strongest lobby I’ve ever seen. They had total control over Congress, and now they don’t, you know, I’m a little surprised to see that,” he said.
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President Donald Trump told The Daily Caller last week that Israel is losing influence globally as the Gaza war hurts its public relations, though he continued to defend the country and criticize Hamas. (Bloomberg/Getty)
Trump, who has been a strong ally of Israel during his presidency, defended Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza but said he has observed how it has hurt the country’s global image.
“So, they’re gonna have to get that war over with. But it is hurting Israel. There’s no question about it. They may be winning the war, but they’re not winning the world of public relations, you know, and it is hurting them.”
He recalled how criticizing Israel was never as common as it is today, as high-profile Democratic members of Congress — including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn. — who have criticized the war in Gaza and accused the country of killing innocent Palestinians.
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Trump called out Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., for her criticism of Israel in a new interview with The Daily Caller. (David Dee Delgado/Getty Images)
“There was a time where you couldn’t speak bad, if you wanted to be a politician, you couldn’t speak badly. But today, you have, you know, AOC plus three, and you have all these lunatics, and they’ve really, they’ve changed it,” he said.
Rep. Ocasio-Cortez and Rep. Omar did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment.
The president still expressed his support for Israel, telling the outlet, “So, Israel is amazing, because, you know, I have good support from Israel. I have. Look, nobody has done more for Israel than I have, including the recent attacks with Iran, wiping that thing out.”
He accused Israel’s critics of forgetting Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack.
“And people, they forgot about October 7. You know, October 7 was a truly horrible day, because I’ve seen the pictures.”
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Family and friends of hostage Yarden Roman-Gat walk barefoot and draw chalk feet outlines during a march through Tel Aviv in solidarity after she was kidnapped barefoot from a kibbutz during Hamas’s Oct. 7 attacks. November 11, 2023, in Tel Aviv, Israel. (Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)
Trump also said there are people who deny that the terror attack that killed over 1,200 people in Israel — just as there are people who deny the Holocaust.
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“And you know, you have people that deny it ever happened, they’re deniers. You have people that deny the Holocaust ever happened,” he said.