Mike Huckabee, nominee for U.S. ambassador to Israel, issued a warning to the Hamas terrorists in Gaza that President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are not to be taken for "chumps," telling Newsmax on Friday the president does not make "empty promises."
Huckabee joined "Rob Schmitt Tonight" to discuss Trump's ultimatum to Hamas earlier this week to release all the hostages by noon on Saturday or "all hell is going to break out." Hamas has said it will release three hostages.
"And I would warn Hamas: Don't take either one of them to be chumps. They're not. And especially President Trump," Huckabee said.
"This is a person who has proven over the last several weeks now that he's been president, he keeps his promises ... and when he says noon Saturday or there'll be hell to pay, I don't know what hell looks like to the people of Hamas, but they're going to find out because Donald Trump doesn't make empty promises."
Trump told reporters on Monday that he wants all of the hostages released, "not in drips and drabs." There are 76 hostages remaining, but Israel has concluded 34 of them are dead.
"It's a very difficult situation for both Israel and the United States," Huckabee said when asked about what comes next if they aren't all released by Trump's deadline.
"Let's keep in mind there are Americans who have been held hostage all this time. And one of the things that frustrated me most ... is that Joe Biden and his administration put more pressure on Israel for a ceasefire than they did on Hamas to let the hostages go. They never issued an ultimatum," Huckabee said.
Meanwhile, Trump made "it very clear that he would not just be standing by with his hands in his pocket, watching Hamas do whatever they wanted to do," Huckabee added.
"And I think that's something the whole world — and especially the leaders of the Middle East — now understand about Donald Trump: He does not want innocent people to be killed. He's for seeing peace in the region and the rest of the world," he said.
"And you don't have peace by acquiescing to thugs, savages, barbarians like Hamas is. You cannot deal with them, cannot trust them. They've proven themselves to be unworthy of a conversation."
"The only thing that they really are understanding is brute force. And that's what I think they're going to end up getting," Huckabee said.
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Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
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