Tim Walberg appears to suggest US should nuke Gaza

A House Republican is facing consequences after a video was released of him apparently calling for the deployment of nuclear weapons in the densely populated Gaza Strip, which is besieged by Israel as the US ally vows to eradicate Hamas.

“We should not spend a cent on humanitarian aid. It should be like Nagasaki and Hiroshima. Get this over with quickly,” Rep. Tim Walberg of Michigan said in a clip highlighting part of his town hall last Monday.

Nagasaki and Hiroshima are the only cities to have been bombed during wartime. The United States deployed these attacks that killed hundreds of thousands of people in 1945, marking the beginning of Japan’s surrender and the end of World War II.

The congressman’s remarks came in response to a constituent question about the Biden administration’s plans to build a floating pier off the coast of Gaza to deliver aid to the Palestinians.

“Why are we spending our money to build a port for them?” the voter asked.

Walberg, 72, explained that the Biden administration believes it is important to deliver humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, but emphasized his personal opposition, saying the United States “should not spend a cent in humanitarian aid.”

A longer version of the clip revealed that after his retort on Gaza, Wallberg also said: “It should be the same in Ukraine.”

Walberg defended his comments in a statement to The Post on Sunday morning.

“As a child growing up during the Cold War era, the last thing I would advocate would be the use of nuclear weapons. In an abbreviated clip, I used a metaphor to express the need for Israel and Ukraine to win their wars as quickly as possible, without putting American troops at risk,” the statement read.

“My reasoning was exactly the opposite of what is reported: the sooner these wars end, the fewer innocent lives will be caught in the crossfire. The sooner Hamas and Russia surrender, the easier it will be to move forward. The use of this metaphor, along with the removal of context, has distorted my message, but I fully stand by these beliefs and support our allies.

Gaza is home to around 2.2 million Palestinians, the vast majority of whom have been displaced by Israel’s war in the narrow Gaza Strip and face a humanitarian crisis.

The war between Israel and Hamas was sparked by the deadly surprise attack on October 7, 2023 that killed some 1,200 Israelis. Some 33,000 Palestinians were killed in the counter-offensive, according to health authorities set up by Hamas, who do not differentiate between civilians and combatants.

Walberg was first elected to the lower house in 2010. He now faces a firestorm over his comments, particularly among Democrats in the Wolverine State.

“This is a reprehensible thing for anyone, especially an elected official and someone who considers himself a man of faith,” Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), in the running, posted on X for the Senate.

“Rep. Walberg should walk away from his comments and try to put himself in the shoes of the many Michiganders who see themselves among the victims of Gaza.”

Slotkin, who is Jewish, was a prominent supporter of Israel during the war.

“Rep. Walberg’s comments are horrific and shocking. It is an indefensible position to oppose humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza while calling for the mass slaughter of the Palestinian people,” Rep. Daniel Kildee rebuked (Michigan Democrat).

“I could not disagree more with these extreme and dangerous comments.”

The Post has contacted Walberg’s office for comment.

Michigan is home to the largest percentage of Arab-Americans in the United States and has become something of a political powder keg for Israel-themed Democrats.

Last month, more than 100,000 Michiganders wrote “no commitment” during the Democratic primary to protest President Biden’s support for Israel.

Biden has since been more outspoken about Israel’s conduct and implored the key Middle East ally to be more cautious about civilian casualties.