Former President Donald Trump’s campaign told Breitbart News exclusively on Thursday that Trump, unlike Vice President Kamala Harris, will “hunt down bloodthirsty terrorists” like those Israel targeted earlier this week.
The statement came in the aftermath of successful Israeli airstrikes on Iran-backed terrorists: Fuad Shukr, a.k.a. al-Hajj Mohsin, who was Hezbollah’s second-in-command; and Ismail Haniyeh, the political head of the Hamas terror group. Shukr, who was killed by an airstrike in Beirut, was nt only responsible for a rocket attack on Saturday that killed 12 Israeli children playing soccer, but was also linked to the 1983 bombing of the U.S. Marines barracks there, in which 241 American servicemen died. Haniyeh was killed by an airstrike in the Iranian capital city of Tehran.
The Trump campaign, via National Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, said:
The Harris-Biden failed foreign policy agenda has weakened our nation while strengthening our enemies, leading to war in Ukraine and the Middle East. Kamala Harris has yet to acknowledge Israel for taking out one of Hamas’ top leaders after their heinous strike that killed 12 innocent Israeli children. If dangerously liberal Kamala Harris is given the keys to the Oval Office and handed the nuclear codes, the world will no doubt be a much more dangerous place. Only President Trump will restore peace through strength, end the war in Ukraine, make Iran broke again, and hunt down blood-thirsty terrorists who seek to prey on innocent Israelis and Americans.
The campaign’s statement echoed Trump’s remarks at a rally in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, on Wednesday evening:
I will restore peace through strength. Over and over again, our enemies have watched Biden and Harris signal a lack of will – total weakness – to do what’s necessary to protect American people and stand up for our allies. A week ago, the prime minister of our closest Middle Eastern ally, Israel, came to address Congress — you saw that. Instead of sending a clear signal that the United States will never abandon an ally, a very important one, Kamala chose to politicize the moment, to grandstand, making a show of refusing to attend. You know where she was? She went to a sorority party. Can you believe it? Even though it was her duty as President of the Senate to be there. It was her duty to be there. Her Democrat allies fell in line. Chuck Schumer refused to shake the Israeli prime minister’s hand. Chuck Schumer has become a Palestinian. Yes, he has. Can you believe it? He’s become a proud member of Hamas. Nancy Pelosi likewise denounced the speech in shameful terms. You know, 15 years ago, Israel had the strongest, most powerful lobby in this country. Now it’s almost the opposite. With AOC-plus-three, and all the people, the enemies of our country in a true sense. But they are the enemies – when they saw all these people abandon Israel they took note. I don’t think it’s accidental that just four days after Harris and Biden repudiated our Israeli allies, Iran’s top terrorist group, Hezbollah, fired an Iranian missile that killed 12 innocent children at a soccer field in northern Israel. It happened right after [Biden] left [the race]. With great embarrassment he left. The terrorists did it because they assumed they could get away with it. Because the United States is weak and ineffective and no longer respected. We are no longer respected. We are a failing nation. I mean, it’s horrible. You don’t want to say it. I wish I didn’t have to say it. I wish I could say they are doing a phenomenal job. I wouldn’t run, I wouldn’t run – I wouldn’t have to run. I would be very happy to have somebody do a phenomenal job, I wouldn’t have to run. And I would be very happy with that. I would be proud of our country. But right, now our country is a joke. It’s being laughed at all over the world. The truth is Harris and Biden’s weakness is inviting every rogue enemy worldwide to absolutely get away with murder.
As a Senator, Harris had criticized then-President Trump’s decision to take out Iranian terror general Qasem Soleimani:
Trump has noted previously that there was calm in the Middle East during his four years in office, when he backed Israel and confronted Iran and its allies and proxies. The Abraham Accords peace agreement, which Trump launched, has not added a single member since Biden took office in 2021, while conflicts have erupted throughout the region.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of “”The Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days,” available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of “The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency,” now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.