In a wide-ranging news conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, US President-elect, Donald Trump offered a window into his foreign and domestic policy weeks before he is to re-enter the White House on January 20.
Trump disclosed that he “had a very good talk” with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying that they discussed efforts to negotiate the release of captives held in Gaza before he takes office.
Those talks have long stalled, with critics accusing Netanyahu of blocking progress under the current administration of US President Joe Biden.
Trump said, “I gave warning that if these hostages aren’t home by that date, all hell’s going to break out,” repeating an earlier threat that he made on social media about releasing the Israeli captives in Gaza in return for a ceasefire. “It was a recap call more than anything else,” Trump added of his talk with Netanyahu.
He did not say when he spoke with the Prime Minister, but Netanyahu’s office said that the two men spoke on Saturday.
Also, the US President-elect described the toppling of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad as an “unfriendly takeover” by Turkey, which had aligned itself with several of the opposition groups that led the lightning offensive on Damascus.
“I think Turkey is very smart… Turkey did an unfriendly takeover without a lot of lives being lost. I can say that Assad was a butcher, what he did to children.”
Donald Trump
Al-Assad’s forced departure followed a surprise offensive across the country by rebel groups, led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had long opposed al-Assad’s rule and supported the Syrian National Army (SNA) opposition group, based in northwestern Syria.
Trump had previously weighed in on the conflict, saying it is “not our fight.”
During his first term, he had sought to withdraw about 900 US soldiers based in Syria in advisory roles for the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a US-backed opposition group, but reneged due to pressure from allies concerned about the resurgence of ISIL (ISIS).
Trump demurred when asked if he would withdraw the US forces.
He said that “nobody knows” what the future holds for Syria, which has been at war since 2011.
However, he added that he thinks “Turkey is going to hold the key to” the nation.
Trump Plans To Talk To Putin, Zelenskyy
On Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Trump deflected when asked about conversations he may have had with Russian President Vladimir Putin since winning the election in November.
He later said that he planned to talk to Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Trump has repeatedly pledged to bring a swift end to the war, but statements from his allies have sparked concerns he would pressure Ukraine to relinquish territory to Russia.
“We’ll be talking to President Putin, and we’ll be talking to the representatives, Zelenskyy and representatives from Ukraine. We gotta stop it. It’s carnage.”
Donald Trump
Trump said of cities destroyed by the fighting, “It’s just rubble.” He added, “Just like when I knock down a building in Manhattan, which is actually, this is worse actually, because we do it step by step.”
He suggested that he may reverse Joe Biden’s recent decision to allow Ukrainian forces to use American long-range weapons to strike deeper into Russian territory.
Trump called the decision by Biden “a very stupid thing to do.”
Trump also addressed domestic issues weighing in on a looming federal ban on the TikTok social media platform and slate of reported drone sightings in the eastern US.
Additionally, he defended his pick for Health Secretary, prominent vaccine sceptic, Robert F Kennedy Jr.
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