US President Donald Trump is going to do "everything he can to expand peace and build relationships not just for America but for Israel," Florida Sen. Rick Scott said when asked what supporters of Israel should make of the president's trip to Qatar.
Speaking at The Jerusalem Post Annual Conference, Scott added that he does not trust Qatar and said that the country's hosting of Hamas leaders is "despicable." He also said that he worked last year on the House Committee on Armed Services to bring about a review of why the US has a military base in Qatar.
Scott emphasized that Trump will remain a staunch supporter of Israel and questioned whether another US president has ever been as strong a supporter of Israel.
Scott also emphasized that he finds Qatari influence on US campuses to be despicable. Qatar "can't continue to support Hamas," he added.
In a meeting following October 7, he asked Qatari officials why they hosted Hamas officials and was told that it was because US President Barack Obama had asked them to. They "need to stop," and "should never have done it," Scott said.
Scott conjectured that the world is going to go down two paths - the "communist China path" and the "America path." He projected that the US will "decouple" from the "bad guys," among which he listed China, Russia, and Iran.
"It's going to be absolutely clear, you can only be on one side," he said, adding that Trump is going to expand "the people on our side." This will be good for the US and good for Israel, he said.
He added that he believes Qatar will "pick the right side," but that this will happen "only if they have to."
Shaky republican support for Israel
Asked about shaky support for Israel among parts of the Republican party pushing for more isolationist policies, Scott said that he can understand Americans "fed up with crappy foreign policy." its hard to defend many of the actions of organizations like USAID and the UN, he said.
This is totally different from US support for Israel, he said, adding that those who want to see US support must be vocal about why this is important and why it is in the US's best interest.
Because so many Americans are concerned about the US economy and want to cut costs, it is vital that those who want to garner support for Israel be vocal on why the US should continue to support the country, he explained.
Scott stressed that the US must stand with Israel, do everything it can to support the IDF, and completely destroy Hamas.
"The antisemitism and the attack on Israel are not just about Jews, it's about our way of life, and they [simply] went after the Jews first."