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What is Trump’s $50 million Gaza cut really about?

Here's the latest from our illustrious leader:

Trump is half right. Hamas has long had a habit of making crude IEDs out of balloons and condoms and floating them over to Israel. However, no US money has ever gone to condoms for Gaza.

Which prompts the question: what was that $50 million actually for? Who knows. Whatever it was, I guess the Gazans aren't getting it anymore.

52 thoughts on “What is Trump’s $50 million Gaza cut really about?

    1. bethby30

      It’s Trump. There may never have been $50million going to Gaza. Or he could be counting the cost of US bombs used in Gaza by Israel.

  1. iamr4man

    Trump has talked about “cleaning out” Gaza and moving all Palestinians to other countries. I just don’t understand why this isn’t a bigger story. I’m sure the condom thing is just an attempt to demonize them (and Biden).

    1. Salamander

      It's a big story in "the Librul Meedia." Which, of course, few Americans are aware of. We need to do something about this.

      Besides donating to independent, fact-finding (muck-raking) small news organizations, does anybody have any further suggestions?

  2. kenalovell

    Asked why he told Americans on national television that Haitians were eating the pets in Springfield, he replied "Someone told me." I'm sure that will explain this story too.

    1. Josef

      If I remember correctly he said the same thing when confronted with the fact that he did not have the biggest electoral win ever in 2016. Apparently people like misinforming him about things that are easily fact checked.

  3. FrankM

    Jeez, Kevin. Are you going to spend the next four years posting every day a different "WTF is he talking about?" story? If you start understanding what Trump is thinking, that's when you should check yourself in for treatment.

    1. akapneogy

      Kevin and others writing about WTF Trump moments is the beating pulse of democracy in America, especially now that mainstream media like NYT and WaPo have reneged on their responsibility.

  4. akapneogy

    Trump is a dealer in lies, corruption, cruelty, lawlessness and kakistocracy. Since 49% of us chose to vote for him, he makes us complicit in all of these.

      1. jte21

        That's almost worse. 30% actively support fascism while 40% of the electorate is relatively indifferent towards it. Fantastic.

  5. campfarrell

    I read online today, (FWIW) that the money going to Gaza was going to the Gaza Province in Mozambique as part of the PEPFAR program.

    1. iamr4man

      So, according to CNN:
      USAID provided or funded a global total of about $7.1 million worth of male condoms and about $1.1 million worth of female condoms, overwhelmingly to countries in Africa, according to the federal report.

      And according to what you read the “Gaza” was a part of Mozambique. And the amount of money was some part of $7 million. And, the money spent is to help prevent AIDS. And from this Trump gets $50 million for condoms for HAMAS to make bombs. And Trump will continue to say this and to most people it will be true because FOX and Republicans will say it over and over.

      1. Salamander

        Thanks! I expect to hear this nonsense from one of my wingnut acquaintances tomorrow, and will be able to respond in some detail now. The other day, he was insisting that all those deported Colombians were "the worst criminals, the rapists and murderers!!!" Colombia disagreed. Turns out a "criminal" is anybody the Maladministration deports. By definition.

  6. golack

    It's BS.

    You can spend a ton of time hunting down something, and you can always find something, that he might have distorted.

    But it's all just BS.

  7. Coby Beck

    I heard another funny quote about Gaza today and the Gazan's relief at the temporary ceasefire:

    Gaza “is ruined and disintegrated, uninhabitable, and it will remain that way. Don't be impressed by the forced joy of our enemy. This is an animalistic society that sanctifies death. Very soon, we will erase their smile again and replace it with cries of grief and the wails of those who were left with nothing.”

    That's from Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich. Seems like a nice man. Totally non-genocidal.

    1. Srho

      Funny part of that invective was that I assumed it was a Palestinian calling the IDF "an animalistic society that sanctifies death." But that's how you set it up.

      1. Coby Beck

        Yes, I said "here's a quote about Gaza" setting you up to read it as a quote about the IDF. I am very subtle and deceptive.

        1. cistg

          It's funny, I read your "about Gaza" as in "here's a quote about Gaza from a Palestinian" so I also assumed it was someone from Hamas describing their feelings about the IDF's actions in Gaza.

  8. Altoid

    A plausible guess from lovovmelife.bsky.social is that some numb-- I mean someone of limited experience-- ran across some reference to "prophylactic medical programming" or something like that and concluded that could only mean condoms rather than as more broadly understood in medical contexts (or sometimes law-enforcement contexts for that matter, but never mind). Jonathan Katz (katz.theracket.news) found a $50 million USAID grant for Gaza, but it was for the entire health sector over 5 years.

    So basically, yeah, somebody pulled it out of his/her/their ass is the most likely case. My bet would be on one of the recent high-school grad types Elmo has in the federal personnel office or an equivalent in the comms office. Or the Heritage Foundation, which has been so inspirational in this endeavor.

    Gotta say, this sequel's casting for the executive branch is making me nostalgic for the Coalition Provisional Authority, as far as hiring practices and qualifications and competence go. Similar in those ways, but doing their level best to make the CPA look like a well-oiled machine.

  9. Martin Stett

    "Besides, as the vilest Writer has his Readers, so the greatest Liar has his Believers; and it often happens, that if a Lie be believ’d only for an Hour, it has done its Work, and there is no farther occasion for it. Falsehood flies, and the Truth comes limping after it; so that when Men come to be undeceiv’d, it is too late; the Jest is over, and the Tale has had its Effect . . . "

    Jonathan Swift in “The Examiner”, 1710

  10. WinningerR

    It astounds me that Kevin—a smart man—still doesn’t understand that Trump and his disciples just *lie.* It’s the most obvious and the most important thing to understand about them. There is no reason to believe there is really $50M or any connection to even a grain of truth in any of this. “They’re eating the pets!,” “Mexico is emptying its jails and sending the prisoners to the US!,” “I won the youth vote by 23%!,” “I sent the military to turn the secret valve that sends water to California!” Etc. etc. etc. etc, etc. etc.

    As usual, this lie is particularly stupid and self-refuting. There are only 2M people in Gaza, so $50M is the equivalent of buying every man, woman, and child 250 condoms. It’s obviously insane.

    Don’t repeat his stupid lies. And certainly don’t imply that “well, y’know, maybe he just got his facts garbled.”

    1. kenalovell

      Reportedly Kennedy told his Senate hearing today that Medicaid costs have gone up 60% in the last four years because all the "illegals" have been enrolling. This of course is preposterous bullshit, but that didn't stop the New York Post running a story headed 'Contentious RFK Jr. hearings reveal the border crisis under the Biden administration is why our healthcare has faltered'.

      They are addicted to lying because their supporters are credulous beyond belief.

      1. jdubs

        By next week, every white guy in America will know that Medicaid has been ruined by the illegals. They will have always known it.

        The next phase will be shutting down Medicaid as a way to fight immigrants.

        Then probably.... tax cuts for real estate companies to deter the immigrants.

        1. jte21

          It is true that some states like California do allow undocumented people access to their Medicaid programs, but the state pays for it -- they can't use federal dollars. They do this 1. because it's the humane thing to do and 2. it saves money in the long run if people have some modicum of normal healthcare access and don't have to turn to extremely expensive ER care when something goes wrong.

      2. emjayay

        The NYPost has comments on a lot of articles, not just opinion pieces. Try reading a few to see the intellectual level of its readers. (Not sure that "intellectual" is really the right word.)

    2. jte21

      As has been discussed here in the past, Trump doesn't so much outright lie as just bullshit. A liar knows his claim is false and has a specific reason for the attempt to deceive. Plenty of smarter Republicans do do that. Trump, however, simply doesn't give a shit -- he just says things he thinks will rile up his base and make him look "tough", regardless if it has any connection to reality or not.

      1. WinningerR

        I never liked that distinction. A lie is a lie. Period. Trump is a liar. And yes, he knows it.

        Even someone of Trump’s limited intellect understands they are spreading lies when they invent bogus statistics on the spot and utter things they’ve been repeatedly advised are untrue. This is a man who hid stolen documents from his own attorneys, crudely altered a weather map in a futile attempt to make himself look less incompetent than he obviously is, and “wins” golf tournaments he doesn’t even participate in. None of that was “bullshitting,” and those are far from his most heinous lies.

        It’s not at all an exaggeration to say that he lies far, far more than he tells the truth.

        1. emjayay

          He just left behind any valuing or evaluating of truth vs fiction many decades ago. It's whatever works. He did the same thing with some stat in the campaign - it was for a couple decades and he decided it was for one year or Biden's administration and probably distorted what it represented too. In this case he maybe heard about a $50 million USAID grant for Gaza for the entire health sector over 5 years, something about condoms for Africa and conflated the stories or someone did it for him.

          "Jerry, just remember. It's not a lie... if you believe it." He's a method acting salesman who has become the role he is playing.

          Such are promises
          All lies and jests
          Still a man hears what he wants to hear
          And disregards the rest

          Lie la lie, lie la la la lie la lie, lie la lie
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          Lie la la la lie la lie, lie la lie
          Lie la la la lie la lie, la la la la lie
          Lie la la la lie la lie, lie la lie
          Lie la la la lie la lie, la la la la lie
          Lie la la la lie la lie, lie la lie
          Lie la la la lie la lie, la la la la lie
          Lie la la la lie la lie, lie la lie
          Lie la la la lie la lie, la la la la lie
          Lie la la la lie la lie, lie la lie
          Lie la la la lie la lie, la la la la lie

    1. jdubs

      This is definitely true. Effective marketing campaigns can be obvious marketing and still be effective on the chosen audience.

  11. Yehouda

    What is really missing now is a site that collect all of Trump bullshit in order, with explanation why it is bulshit, so people can repeatedly refer to it.

    I am surprised the Democrats don't already do something like that. It is a significant job, but is valuable in many ways.

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