The nightmarish conditions in Gaza are gut-wrenching. The New York Times reported over the weekend on the remaining hospitals in the territory, where there’s not enough food for patients or medical staff, where nurses are fainting from hunger and dehydration, and there are insufficient resources for malnourished babies and dozens.
“After months of warnings, international agencies, experts and doctors say starvation is now sweeping across Gaza amid restrictions on aid imposed by Israel for months,” the report added. “At least 56 Palestinians died this month of starvation in the territory, nearly half of the total such deaths since the war began 22 months ago, according to data released on Saturday by the Gaza Health Ministry.”
On Sunday, former president Barack Obama wrote via social media about the need for immediate action. “While a lasting resolution to the crisis in Gaza must involve a return of all hostages and a cessation of Israel’s military operations, these articles underscore the immediate need for action to be taken to prevent the travesty of innocent people dying of preventable starvation,” he wrote, referencing the Times’ reporting.
“Aid must be permitted to reach people in Gaza. There is no justification for keeping food and water away from civilian families,” Obama added.
As HuffPost noted, the incumbent American president delivered a different kind of message.
President Donald Trump expressed disappointment Sunday that nobody has thanked him for sending money meant to go toward food aid for Gaza, as Palestinians continue to die every day — either by starvation or by Israeli gunfire at U.S.-backed aid sites. Appearing in Scotland alongside EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Trump was asked if Israel should do more to get sufficient aid into the Palestinian territory it has nearly flattened. The president responded with a bizarre complaint.
The first sign of trouble came when a reporter asked the Republican how he feels when he sees the images of starving children in Gaza. The first three words of his response were fine — “Well, it’s terrible,” Trump said — before the president’s answer started meandering, eventually telling reporters, “We have Venezuela acting up in a different way. They’re sending, they continue to send people, that we rebuff, to our border. They continue to send drugs into our country, Venezuela. They’ve been very nasty.”
His rambling response kept going from there, talking about border security, unnamed sources telling him how “hot” the U.S. is, tariff revenue, Joe Biden being “incompetent” and Democrats’ reluctance to talk about how great a job he’s doing.
In other words, asked how he feels when he sees the images of starving children in Gaza, Trump had all sorts of things to say, many of which had literally nothing to do with the question.
But as the Q&A continued, Trump’s perspective on the crisis conditions also included some related thoughts about his hurt feelings.
“We gave $60 million two weeks ago for food for Gaza, and nobody acknowledged it, nobody talks about it,” the Republican said. He added in reference to European countries, “And it makes you feel a little bad when you do that, and you know, you have other countries not giving anything. … Nobody said, ‘Gee, thank you very much,’” he continued. “And it would be nice to have at least a thank you.”
The next day, Trump continued to focus one of his principal concerns: his perceived lack of gratitude. “Nobody said, even, ‘thank you,’” he again complained, referring to U.S. aid to Gaza. “Somebody should say, ‘thank you.’
In fairness, it’s important to emphasize that the American president also said Western nations need to “help on a humanitarian basis” and “get the kids fed,” but that was between comments about his desire to hear words of thanks from unnamed countries.
This article was originally published on MSNBC.com
