This has been a rough week for anti-Muslim bigots and pro-Israel zealots in MAGA. Conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer, who posted she’d take a bullet for Donald Trump, is incensed that her “King” would accept a $400 million bribe from Qatar in the form of a luxury jet that he’ll use as Air Force One. Notorious anti-Palestinian bigot and self-proclaimed intellectual Ben Shapiro also expressed his disappointment with Trump, who chose Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE as his first foreign destinations as President.
For most of us, we oppose bribery because it’s a naked grift, an act of shameless corruption, and Trump signaling to the world that he’s willing to sell himself, and America, to the highest bidder. For Loomer and Shapiro, they’re upset he’s cozying up to Qatar, a Muslim majority country, and willing to bypass Israel and negotiate with Hamas to release a hostage. Unfortunately for them, they forgot that Trump is motivated by greed and power, and the color green temporarily buys off his racism. Trump has business dealings in all three Gulf countries, and he’s willing to be pampered, flattered, and bought for the right price. Earlier today, Qatar announced it will buy 210 Boeing jets. (I wonder how many of Trump’s friends bought Boeing stock before the announcement, but I digress.)
Pro-Israel hawks, who continue to cheerlead Israel’s genocide of Gaza, are also discovering that their fellow MAGA travelers have an anti-semitic streak. If Musk’s Sieg Heils and Kanye’s “Heil Hitler” song weren’t, you know, subtle enough, the emergence and embrace of white nationalist Nick Fuentes should have done the job. The MAGA “America First” movement also has fissures with support for Israel, as Tucker Carlson and Candace Owens now openly question why US tax dollars are going to fund a foreign country that is bombing Palestinian children.
However, Trump isn’t a humanitarian. He just wants the best deal that will line his pockets, regardless of the misery and pain. Gaza is currently in ruins, and Palestinians are at the brink of starvation due to Israel’s blockade. Both President Biden and Trump were complicit in allowing Israel’s ongoing genocide and occupation, however, Trump is the one who wants to build a “Riviera on the Middle East” and ethnically cleanse Palestinians from Gaza. Republicans are also weaponizing anti-semitism and using Jews as a battering ram against free speech, civil liberties, and public universities. Clearly, the folks who promote the white supremacist “replacement theory” don’t care about Jews, but they are willing to shamelessly use them to achieve their authoritarian ends.
I invited author, professor, and commentator on Israel and Palestine, Peter Beinart, editor of The Beinart Notebook, to discuss how Trump’s Middle East trip and corrupt foreign policy will impact the region, the future of Palestinians, and U.S. national security.
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