Progressive Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., struggled to credit President Donald Trump for the Gaza ceasefire, saying he previously had been an "obstacle to peace."
During a CNN town hall on Wednesday night with independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, Ocasio-Cortez was asked whether Trump deserves credit for the Hamas terrorists returning the Israeli hostages.
"In this particular development, yes. But we also know that President Trump was an obstacle to peace previously as well," she said.
"We may have an announcement around a ceasefire, but Gaza has been flattened."
"Tens of thousands of people are dead, universities gone, hospitals eliminated with American-made bombs," Ocasio-Cortez added.
Trump on Monday joined mediators Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey in signing a document on the Gaza ceasefire deal, which was initiated by the U.S. president.
The ceasefire came on the heels of the two-year anniversary of Hamas' invasion of Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
Terrorists coordinated deadly incursions from Gaza into Israel, where some 1,200 were brutally murdered and 251 kidnapped.
"I think that the release of the hostages is a tremendous accomplishment, and it is providing so much healing to so many people — Israelis and Palestinians — and it is a profound and important moment in this conflict," said Ocasio-Cortez.
However, she expressed skepticism that the ceasefire would hold.
"I also think that as President Trump was on the plane back to the United States, there's already indications and questions about whether this ceasefire will hold. And I pray that it does for everyone's benefit," she said. "I pray that it does.
"But I do believe we need to see if it holds.
"I don't believe that there's been a history of fidelity to these agreements, and so I think we have to ensure that we will see the terms held to."
She criticized the U.S. for what she called its complicity in the humanitarian toll.
"The United States played a role in all of this destruction to begin with by enabling Benjamin Netanyahu … by refusing to enforce our own American laws," she said, referring to the Israeli prime minister and the Leahy Laws that prohibit military aid to foreign forces engaged in human rights violations.
"We look the other way because we deem them an ally."
Sanders argued that the Gaza focus should not be on political credit but on the catastrophic human cost of the conflict.
"I get a little bit annoyed when everyone's talking about credit," Sanders said.
"Gaza has a population of 2.2 million people. In the last two years, 160,000 people have been wounded, 65,000 killed — mostly women, children, and the elderly."
"That's 10% of the population," he added.
Sanders condemned what he called "a disaster, a genocide if you like," saying that both the Trump and Biden administrations "gave $22 billion to Netanyahu's extremist government," funding what he described as "an all-out war against women and children in Gaza."
Sanders added that while the release of hostages and prisoners was welcome, "this is not a time for credit. This is a time to think about American policy."
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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