Pro-Israel Republicans See What They Want To See In Trump's Skepticism Of Gaza War

WASHINGTON ― Republican senators promise they haven’t heard about former President Donald Trump’s cosmetic concerns about Israel’s invasion of Gaza.

And if they have, maybe he meant something totally different? Maybe his concerns were wholly correct? Or even mostly wrong?

HuffPost asked nine GOP senators earlier this week about Trump’s comments, in which he insisted images of the war were costing Israel support. Their responses ― or lack thereof ― speak to the creativity with which GOP lawmakers address disagreements with the de facto leader of their party, even eight years after he emerged as a major political force.

In a late March interview with the right-wing Israeli outlet, Israel Hayom, Trump urged Israel to “finish up your war,” because the images of death and destruction in Gaza are costing “Israel a lot of support.” More than 33,000 Palestinians have died in Israel’s invasion, and the U.S. government believes the region is facing a famine.

Given a chance to walk back his remarks, Trump doubled down in an early April interview on the Hugh Hewitt Show, a popular conservative radio program.

Hewitt asked Trump twice whether he is still standing “100% with Israel,” and Trump did not provide a clear answer.

“I’m not sure that I’m loving the way they’re doing it, because you’ve got to have victory,” he replied. “You have to have a victory, and it’s taking a long time.”

Trump’s criticism of Israel is largely about public relations rather than civilian casualties: He says its government is releasing too many photos and videos of its bombing runs, and needs to find a way to wrap the war up so it doesn’t look bad. At the same time, he continues to campaign on his record of virtually unprecedented support for Israeli