In an interview with a right-wing Israeli news outlet, former President Donald Trump gave his full-throated support for Israel’s war effort in Gaza, but said the country has “to finish it up” and that releasing photos and footage of Israeli bombings is “a bad image.”

“You have to finish up your war. To finish it up. You gotta get it done. And, I am sure you will do that. And we gotta get to peace, we can't have this going on,” Trump told Israel Hayom, a Hebrew-language daily newspaper, from the library of his Florida estate over the weekend. “I will say, Israel has to be very careful, because you're losing a lot of the world, you're losing a lot of support, you have to finish up, you have to get the job done. And you have to get on to peace, to get on to a normal life for Israel, and for everybody else."

What You Need To Know

  • In an interview with a right-wing Israeli news outlet, former President Donald Trump gave his full-throated support for Israel’s war effort in Gaza, but said the country has “to finish it up” and that releasing photos and footage of Israeli bombings is “a bad image”

  • When pressed by the Israeli journalists that there were “terrorists hiding in those buildings” being bombed, Trump reiterated his support for the war effort. Letting the world see, he argued, was just bad public relations

  • "Go and do what you have to do. But you don't do that. And I think that's one of the reasons that there has been a lot of kickback,” Trump said. “If people didn't see that, every single night I've watched every single one of those. And I think Israel wanted to show that it's tough, but sometimes you shouldn't be doing that”
  • He did not offer any insight for what he would do if reelected to help end the war beyond being someone other than President Joe Biden, who he called “a dumb person” and “the worst president in the history of our country”

In the interview, Trump claimed the Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas on southern Israel that triggered the war would never have happened if he was still president, but said he would have acted “very much the same way as” Israel did if it were his children or grandchildren killed or captured  in the Hamas attack that left over 1,200 dead and over 200 taken hostage. 

“You would have to be crazy not to. Only a fool would not do that. That was a horrible attack,” he said. 

He did not offer any insight for what he would do if reelected to help end the war beyond being someone other than President Joe Biden, who he called “a dumb person” and “the worst president in the history of our country.”

“Look, I've been the best president in history by a factor of 10 to Israel,” Trump said. ”Israel has to do what they have to do. But we have to get to peace because the world is turning and it's not a good thing for Israel, what's happening is not a good thing.”

Asked how he would combat antisemitism that has risen since the war began if elected again, Trump said “I think Israel made a very big mistake” by releasing footage of their bombardment of Gaza. Israel has bombed and attacked hospitals, schools and enough homes to leave around two million Palestinians displaced, according to the United Nations. More than 31,800 Palestinians have been killed since the war began, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry — an institution broadly trusted by the U.N. and other international organizations and whose casualty counts are in line with Israeli and U.S. estimates.

“I wanted to call [Israel] and say don't do it. These photos and shots. I mean, moving shots of bombs being dropped into buildings in Gaza. And I said, ‘Oh, that's a terrible portrait. It's a very bad picture for the world. The world is seeing this,’” Trump said. “Every night, I would watch buildings pour down on people. It would say it was given by the Defense Ministry, and [I] said whoever's providing that that's a bad image."

When pressed by the Israeli journalists that there were “terrorists hiding in those buildings,” Trump reiterated his support for the war effort. Letting the world see, he argued, was just bad public relations.

"Go and do what you have to do. But you don't do that. And I think that's one of the reasons that there has been a lot of kickback,” Trump said. “If people didn't see that, every single night I've watched every single one of those. And I think Israel wanted to show that it's tough, but sometimes you shouldn't be doing that.”

“Israel has to get better with the promotional and with the public relations, because right now they're in ruin,” Trump later added, responding to criticism of Israel’s government from Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and other congressional Democrats. “They're being hurt very badly. I think in a public relations sense."

Trump also claimed Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., “truly hate the Jewish people” because of their criticism of Israel. Both have been sharp critics of the Israeli government, calling the war a genocide. Tlaib is the only Palestinian-American in Congress. 

He continued to repeat his belief that American Jews who do not vote for him are acting against the best interest of their religion. He has long questioned Jewish Democrats’ loyalty to the U.S. and equated Jewishness with the Israeli state. Last week, he said “any Jewish person that votes for Democrats hates their religion” and “they hate everything about Israel.”

"How could a Jewish person vote for Kamala Harris?” Trump asked at one point in the Israel Hayom interview. “She supports the enemy, but [Biden] supports the enemy too."

Israel Hayom is owned by the Adelsons, an American family who made their money in casinos and were among the most generous donors to his 2016 and 2020 campaigns. Trump reportedly met with the family matriarch, Miriam Adelson, in February to discuss his 2024 campaign. The Adelsons and Israel Hayom are major supporters of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as well.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.