Donald Trump’s foreign policy profile is indistinct. Some, like Tucker Carlson, seem to see him as a sort of peacenik. But I don’t think Trump is entirely on board with that perception. Thus, he responded today on Truth Social to Hamas’s announcement that 33 hostages have been killed since they were taken on October 7, 2023:
“If the hostages are not released prior to January 20, 2025, the date that I proudly assume Office as President of the United States, there will be ALL HELL TO PAY in the Middle East, and for those in charge who perpetrated these atrocities against Humanity,” he wrote.
He added: “Those responsible will be hit harder than anybody has been hit in the long and storied History of the United States of America. RELEASE THE HOSTAGES NOW!”
I don’t know, call me an optimist. But I remember how Iran released the American hostages who had been held for a year and half on the day when Ronald Reagan was inaugurated. They didn’t fear Jimmy Carter, but they feared Reagan. Hamas obviously doesn’t fear Joe Biden; do they fear Trump? They might.
Having threatened to hit Hamas “harder than anybody has been hit in the long and storied History of the United States of America,” I don’t suppose Trump can, or will, back off post-inauguration, the way Barack Obama did from his “red line” in Syria. So the next move is up to Hamas. Don’t be shocked if the terrorists decide their better course is to release the hostages.
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