Democrat Dingell says Trump may have ‘nuked Gaza’ amid anger at Biden

Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.) said Tuesday that her colleague Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.)’s anger at President Biden over the administration’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war led to former President Trump’s election. He warned that gaining an advantage could have the opposite effect. She said it could be even worse for Palestinians.

Dingell said it’s important to listen to the voices of Michigan’s Muslim and Arab American communities as Michigan voters head to the primary polls on Tuesday. Tlaib supports urging Democratic voters to vote “irresponsibly” in protest of Biden’s support for Israel and refusal to support a cease-fire.

However, Dingell believes that if President Trump had been in the Oval Office when Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, killing about 1,200 people and taking about 240 hostages, the situation for Palestinians in Gaza would have been different. He said it would have been much worse.

“I have a different perspective than other people,” Dingell said during an appearance on MSNBC on Tuesday. “I’m glad we’re talking about this now and not on October 15th. I say this to my colleagues who I talk to all the time: You don’t want Donald Trump to be president!” If he had done this below, frankly I don’t know if he wouldn’t have nuked Gaza. ”

Dingell was responding to a video of Tlaib posted Tuesday by the Listen to Michigan campaign, in which he called the only Palestinian-American congressman “irresponsible” for voting in the primary. I’m proud.”

“We have to protect our democracy. We have to make sure the government is thinking about us, the people,” Tlaib said in the video.

Biden has faced backlash from progressives over his handling of the Middle East wars, and faced protests over the issue during a visit to the state in early February.

Dingell, who has lived in Dearborn for 40 years, which has one of the highest Muslim populations per capita in the U.S., said there needs to be an “honest” conversation about the issue and that she understands the pain residents are feeling. He said he understood.

“I know how much they are hurting, but what people don’t realize is how many families actually lost their loved ones,” she said. “Mothers, fathers, grandmothers, uncles, aunts, cousins. Some families have lost 20, 40 family members.”