OPINION:
President Trump, speaking to reporters at the Group of Seven summit in France, said that without him, “there would be no Israel,” and “without the United States, there would be no Israel.”
Yikes. God may have a difference of opinion on that one.
Trump is the greatest president America has had in decades — since at least Ronald Reagan; some might say he’s even better than Reagan, at least in certain aspects. But he’s still human and therefore fallible.
And boy, what a doozy of an example of his fallibility to lay claim to being Israel’s savior.
“Speaking alongside Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, at the summit of the world’s biggest economies in Evian-les-Bains, France, Trump said: ‘Without the United States, there would be no Israel. Without me, there would be no Israel, because no other president was willing to do what I did,” Newsweek wrote.
Then he said, “Israel would have been blown up a long time ago, had I not gotten involved,” Newsweek wrote.
Then he said, “Now Bibi has to be more responsible with respect to Lebanon,” JNS wrote, referring to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
And oh, yes, he also called Hezbollah “that little pin prick out there that constantly rears its head” — while also chiding Israel for striking against Hezbollah in the hours before the U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding was signed, or sorta signed, or partially signed, whatever. ‘Cause the real MOU is due to be signed and officially released to the public in a couple of days.
When asked why so long to wait before releasing the text of the MOU, Trump said he wanted “to get a formal setting first,” JNS wrote.
Then he said he “never cared about regime change,” but that regime change happened nonetheless because all Iran’s leaders were killed in the last months of war, leaving — ahem — only the “rational people” left for discussing and making peace.
“We are [now] dealing with people I think are rational people,” Trump said, JNS wrote. “They are not radicalized and [are] looking to help their country.”
Rational terrorists.
There’s a new concept to consider.
The thing is: Israel has been dealing with strikes from Iran’s proxy terror group, Hezbollah, since late 2023, when they decided to exploit the Israel Defense Forces’ war against Hamas in the south by launching simultaneous strikes in the north. Dozens of Israeli soldiers and citizens — including 12 children playing on a soccer field in a Jewish community that was suddenly bombed — have been killed by Hezbollah terrorists. Dozens more have been injured.
Israel has retaliated.
But they aren’t the aggressors in this military operation.
Lookie here. “U.S. launches ‘self defense’ strikes on Iran after Apache helicopter shot down,” NBC News reported a couple of days ago.
That’s what Israel has been doing in Lebanon against Hezbollah.
“U.S. Launches Strikes on Iran After Downing of Army Helicopter, Prompting Retaliation,” United Against Nuclear Iran reported.
That’s exactly how it’s being played in the Israeli-Hezbollah engagement: Hezbollah strikes; Israel strikes back defensively; Hezbollah feels prompted to retaliate.
Trump has expressed frustration with Netanyahu for firing off missiles at Hezbollah. But Israel has a sovereign right to defend itself.
And drawing moral equivalencies between terrorists and the Jewish people on the international stage — by calling them rational people, by scolding Israel for defending itself — only enables the terrorists. Meanwhile, boasting of being the reason for Israel’s existence mocks God. The Old Testament is filled with God’s promises to the Israeli people — about their lands, about their people, about their divine protection. And while Trump is a powerful guy — and Iran is a powerful enemy — neither can change God’s word or alter His promises or water down His will.
• Cheryl Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com or on Twitter, @ckchumley. Listen to her podcast “Bold and Blunt” by clicking HERE. And never miss her column; subscribe to her newsletter and podcast by clicking HERE. Her latest book, “God-Given Or Bust: Defeating Marxism and Saving America With Biblical Truths,” is available by clicking HERE.
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