Former President Trump on Saturday ripped into President Biden over Iran’s recent attack against Israel, arguing it would not be occurring if were still in the Oval Office.
“I want to say God bless the people of Israel — they’re under attack right now,” Trump said Saturday during a rally in Schnecksville, Penn. “That’s because we show great weakness. This would not happen.”
“The great weakness that we’ve shown is unbelievable, and it would not have happened if we were in office. You know that, they know that, everybody knows that,” he added.
The rally was held shortly after Iran launched an attack of drone and missile strikes on Israel on Saturday, sparking fears of a wider regional conflict in the Middle East.
Israel later said the “vast majority” of the Iranian missiles were intercepted outside of the country by the country’s air defenses and the assistance of its allies, including U.S. forces.
Trump on Saturday said America “prays for Israel,” telling the crowd, “We send our absolute support to everyone in harm’s way. This is an attack that would not have happened.”
“I will revive American strength abroad, and we will restore American strength at home,” he continued.
He echoed the argument on Truth Social, writing earlier in the day, “ISRAEL IS UNDER ATTACK! This should never have been allowed to happen – This would NEVER have happened if I were President!”
Biden returned to the White House on Saturday in the wake of Iran’s attacks to consult with his national security team. He later spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and said he condemned the attacks “in the strongest possible terms.”
“I’ve just spoken with Prime Minister Netanyahu to reaffirm America’s ironclad commitment to the security of Israel,” Biden said. “I told him that Israel demonstrated a remarkable capacity to defend against and defeat even unprecedented attacks – sending a clear message to its foes that they cannot effectively threaten the security of Israel.”
The former president has repeatedly claimed ongoing tensions abroad would not have occurred under his leadership. In October, Trump said there would be “zero chance” Hamas’s surprise assault on Israel would have happened, arguing the attacks were a result of the U.S. being seen as “weak and ineffective.”
In a statement to The Hill, White House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates said Biden is the only American president to “directly defend Israel.”
“President Biden is the only American President to have directly defended Israel, as he ordered the American military to last night,” Bates said. “He is also the only American President to have set foot on in Israel during wartime, in support of our ironclad commitment to their security. Unlike others, he did not attack Israel in the days after 10/7 and has never praised Hezbollah.”
Updated at 9:43 pm.