Rep. Tim Walberg (R-Mich.) said this week that the Gaza conflict should end quickly, “like Nagasaki or Hiroshima,” and that the U.S. should move into the besieged enclave as Israel's war with Hamas continues. He said the country should refrain from sending humanitarian aid. .
“We shouldn't be spending a dime on humanitarian aid,” Wahlberg reportedly said at a town hall meeting in Dundee, Michigan, on Monday. video Something that spread on social media.
Referring to the Japanese cities where the United States dropped atomic bombs during World War II, he continued, “We should become like Nagasaki and Hiroshima. Let's end this quickly.” Hundreds of thousands of people died.
“I used the metaphor to convey the need for both Israel and Ukraine to win the war as quickly as possible without harming U.S. forces,” Walberg said in a statement.
“My reasoning was the exact opposite of what was being reported. The sooner the war ends, the fewer innocent lives will be caught in the crossfire,” he added.
According to Mr. Wahlberg's public calendar, he was scheduled to attend a community meeting in Dundee on Monday, March 25 at 10 a.m.
Walberg made the comment in response to a question from the audience: “Why are we spending money to build ports for them?”
The question appears to be a reference to the Biden administration's plan to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza via floating docks. The United Nations and other agencies have warned that the enclave is on the brink of starvation due to five months of Israeli attacks and a lack of sufficient supplies flowing into Gaza.
“That's Joe Biden's reason: We need to get humanitarian aid to Gaza. I don't think we should do that,” Walberg responded.
More than 32,000 people have died in Gaza since Israel began its war with Hamas, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health. The military operation follows an October 7 attack by insurgents in the country that killed nearly 1,200 people and took about 250 hostages. More than 100 people are believed to remain detained in Gaza.
Many of Mr. Walberg's fellow Michigan politicians were quick to criticize his comments.
Democratic Representative Haley Stevens said: Post to X “Threatening, threatening, or God forbid the actual use of nuclear weapons are unacceptable war tactics in the 21st century.”
Justin Amash, a Palestinian-American Republican who is running for the Senate, is a former congressman. said in the post Walberg's comments “show utter indifference to human suffering,” he said, adding, “They wipe out hundreds of thousands of innocent Palestinians, including my relatives who have taken refuge in Orthodox Christian churches. What he suggested should be done is reprehensible and indefensible.”
Democratic state senator Darrin Camilleri Wahlberg asked to resignDemocratic Rep. Dan Kildee Mr. Wahlberg's comments said: was “appalling and shocking” and his position “indefensible.”
Democratic Rep. Hilary Scholten said, “My colleague's comments are reckless and wrong.” said in X. She called Wahlberg's comments “depraved” and prompted They called on him to “retract and apologize.”
Politicians and groups outside of Michigan also took issue with Wahlberg's comments.
Rep. Chris Delzio, D-Pennsylvania; called for comment “It's horrible, it's inhumane, it's barbaric,” said Congressman Andy Kim (DN.J.). Said The comments were “disgraceful” and “disgraceful.”
“This apparent call for genocide by members of Congress should be condemned by all Americans who value human life and international law,” Daud Walid, executive director of the Muslim civil rights group CAIR-MI, said in a statement. said. “To so casually call for something that would lead to the murder of all people in Gaza sends a chilling message that Palestinian lives have no value.”