President Trump faces a familiar moral test as the Gaza crisis deepens into famine, prompting him to act against humanitarian suffering. The situation echoes past crises that left previous presidents wringing their hands over how to respond.
The US supplies Israel with billions of dollars in annual military aid, making it difficult for Trump to influence Hamas’s actions. However, he can insist that Israel clears roads and protects aid convoys. A long-term solution may require leveraging American aid to force Netanyahu to accept a cease-fire on terms short of his demands.
Experts say the quandary is a familiar one for US presidents, with many having struggled to address humanitarian catastrophes due to moral duty and sense of obligation. The crisis in Gaza highlights the need for decisive action to prevent mass atrocities and genocide.
Trump’s predecessors, including Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, have faced similar dilemmas, often choosing between intervening militarily or risking American lives. Obama took a more proactive approach in 2011, when he ordered airstrikes in Libya to avert a massacre. However, the experience left him regretting the intervention.
The situation in Gaza presents Trump with an especially difficult case, as it did for President Biden. The US has struggled to balance its support for Israel with its responsibility to protect innocent lives. Ultimately, experts say America’s problem lies within itself, with a complicity in Israel’s conduct that must be addressed.
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/30/us/politics/trump-gaza-foreign-policy.html