Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: A day after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on US President Joe Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris, their Republican rival Donald Trump warned the visiting Israeli leader that the Third World War could break out if he (Trump) does not win the US elections in November.
During a conversation with Netanyahu, whom he invited on Friday to his Mar-a-Lago residence, he buried the hatchet as the former US President claimed there would be a major war in the Middle East and potentially a “Third World War” if he did not win the 2024 Presidential elections.
“If we win, it’ll be very simple. It’s all going to work out and very quickly,” Trump told reporters at the start of the meeting. “If we don’t, you’re going to end up with major wars in the Middle East and maybe a Third World War,” Trump was quoted by the media as saying.
“You are closer to a Third World War right now than at any time since the Second World War. You’ve never been so close, because we have incompetent people running our country,” he added.
Even earlier, referring to the ongoing Ukraine and Gaza Wars, Trump had said the world is on the brink of a Third World War.
Trump, a former reality TV star, has also ‘predicted’ that the stock market would crash if he failed to win the November election.
His Friday meeting with Netanyahu was the first since Trump left the White House. Their relations strained after Netanyahu congratulated Biden for winning the presidential elections.
Despite criticizing Israel for the ongoing Gaza War, however, Trump on Friday sought to underscore his support for Israel, citing his previous administration’s decision to move the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal and impose sanctions.
“We’ve had a good relationship. I was very good to Israel, better than any president’s ever been,” Trump averred. After Netanyahu met with Biden, the White House expressed optimism that a cease-fire deal and the release of hostages being held by Hamas is within reach.