Donald Trump has baselessly suggested that Hamas is plotting to attack inside the U.S. because of the immigration policies of President Joe Biden and former President Barack Obama.
On Saturday morning, Hamas initiated a large-scale surprise attack on Israel, launching a barrage of missiles from the Gaza Strip and sending fighters into Israeli territory. The Israeli military has hit the Hamas-ruled territory with a series of airstrikes, and over 1,100 people had been killed on both sides as of Monday morning, according to the Associated Press. Thousands more were reported injured.
Trump said in a Truth Social post on Monday that U.S. taxpayers "helped fund" the Hamas attack, possibly because Biden approved $235 million in aid to Palestinians in 2021. However, there is no evidence that any of the funds went to Hamas. The bulk of the aid went to fund humanitarian assistance administered by the United Nations.
The former president ramped up his rhetoric against Biden a short time later, saying without evidence that the president's immigration policies had resulted in Hamas militants "pouring" across the U.S.-Mexico border. Trump also said that Biden and his "boss," Obama, would be responsible for any Hamas attacks inside the U.S.
"The same people that raided Israel are pouring into our once beautiful USA, through our TOTALLY OPEN SOUTHERN BORDER, at Record Numbers," Trump wrote on Truth Social. "Are they planning an attack within our Country? Crooked Joe Biden and his BOSS, Barack Hussein Obama, did this to us!"
Newsweek reached out for comment to the White House via email on Monday morning.
There is no evidence to back up the claim that militants from Hamas, which the U.S. government considers a terrorist group, are flooding across the U.S.-Mexico border. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CPB) statistics show that 76 people on the U.S. terrorist watch list have attempted to cross the southern border during 2023 so far.
The CBP statistics do not indicate that any of those trying to cross were Hamas militants. There is no evidence that the group, which has sworn to destroy Israel and establish an Islamic state, intends to attack inside the U.S. or anywhere else outside of the Middle East.
In addition, border encounters with migrants on the terrorist watch list appear to have been significantly higher during the Trump administration than under Biden. Sixty-seven encounters were recorded under Biden in 2022, while 155 were recorded at the same point during Trump's presidency, in 2018.
While Trump appears to be blaming Biden for the current Israeli-Palestinian conflict, others have pointed their fingers at the former president.
On social, media, some have suggested, without evidence, that Trump's alleged sharing of classified intelligence with Russian officials during his presidency resulted in sensitive information from Israel being passed on to Iran, a Hamas ally. This brought speculation that the weekend's attack on Israel was facilitated by the information sharing with the militant group.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Aila Slisco is a Newsweek night reporter based in New York. Her focus is on reporting national politics, where she ... Read more
