Trump blames Biden for the Hamas attack on October 7, but claims Israel made a 'big mistake' by 'dropping bombs on Gaza' because it's a 'very bad picture for the world'

Former President Donald Trump criticized President Joe Biden during a press conference on Monday, blaming him for the October 7th Hamas terrorist attacks on Israel.

The presumptive Republican nominee for president accused 'Biden and his thugs' for his ongoing court cases and trials, and said it was all part of the 'weaponization' of the justice system to distract from the president's record of foreign policy failures.

'He can't win because of the October 7th attack of Israel which he should have never been allowed to happen, would have never happened if I was president,' he said.

Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a press conference

US President Joe Biden speaks at an event in Arizona 

Trump said Biden's weakness motivated Hamas to attack Israel, speaking at length about the issue in an interview with Israel Hayom that was also published Monday. 

'His foreign policy throughout 50 years has been horrible,' Trump said about Biden. 'If you look at people that were in other administrations with him, they saw him as a weak, ineffective president, they would have never done that attack if I were there.'

But Trump also offered some criticism of Israel for dropping bombs on buildings in Gaza, warning them that some of the images were very damaging to their moral case for the war.

'I think Israel made a very big mistake. I wanted to call and say don't do it,' Trump said, warning that images and video of the bombs falling on Gaza were 'moving' and a 'bad image' for the Israelis. 

Palestinians, including children, examine the rubble and collect remaining belongings from the rubble of heavily damaged building

A smoke plume erupts during Israeli bombardment on a building in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip

'I said, "Oh, that's a terrible portrait. It's a very bad picture for the world. The world is seeing this…" every night, I would watch buildings pour down on people,' he said.

The former president acknowledged he would have acted in a similar way, if his own grandchildren were kidnapped by Hamas.

'I would say I would act very much the same way as you did. You would have to be crazy not to. Only a fool would not do that. That was a horrible attack.'

But Trump said that Israel should try to wrap up the war, warning they were losing public support as it dragged on into multiple weeks.

'You have to finish up your war. To finish it up. You gotta get it done. And, I am sure you will do that. And we gotta get to peace, we can't have this going on,' he said. 'And I will say, Israel has to be very careful, because you're losing a lot of the world, you're losing a lot of support.'

.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shake hands

President Joe Biden, left, on March 8, 2024, in Wallingford, Pa., and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

The former president known for his braggadocios demeanor on issues of foreign policy said Israel was struggling with their image abroad as a result of the extended bombing of Gaza. 

'I think Israel wanted to show that it's tough, but sometimes you shouldn't be doing that,' he said.  

Trump indicated the war would continue as long as Biden was president, describing him as the worst president in the history of the United States.  

'He can't put two sentences together. He can't talk. He's a very dumb person. He's a dumb person,' he said. 

Trump boasted he was very popular in Israel, because of his decision for the United States to back Israeli sovereignty over the Golan heights and moving the American embassy to Jerusalem.  

'They say if I ran for office in Israel, I'd get 98 percent of the vote,' Trump said. 'I'm not Jewish, and yet Israel to me is very important.'