In a recent video posted on X, Michigan’s representative Tim Walberg said that there exists no need to send aid to Gaza. “It should be treated the same as ‘Hiroshima’ and ‘Nagasaki’ insinuating a nuclear attack.”
Throughout the whole leaked and now viralled video which surfaced on the internet like a whirlwind, Michigan’s representative remained off-screen, just his voice could be heard. Netizens criticized him for making such abrasive comments on a sensitive topic like Gaza while Walberg’s office has reportedly said that it was all ‘metaphorical’.
Walberg’s speech in townhall which sparked controversy
On March 25, at a town hall in Michigan’s Dundee, the congressman was seen addressing the Constituents on the Israel-Palestine issue. In his delivery, he said that the United States of America should not send a dime for humanitarian Aid in Gaza, rather the situation should be handled how the cities of Japan, ‘Hiroshima’ and ‘Nagasaki’ were handled back in 1945 during World War II. By his words, the representative meant that a nuclear attack should be launched at Gaza.
In the conference, a person whose identity is not revealed in the video, asked, “Why are we spending our money to build a port for them?” While answering his question, the Congressman quotes in his answer, “We shouldn’t be spending a dime on humanitarian aid. It should be like Nagasaki and Hiroshima. Get it over quick.” According to ‘The Washington Post’, he further added that the same should be applied in Ukraine referring to the ongoing conflicts between Russia and Ukraine. “Defeat Putin quick, instead 80 percent in Ukraine being used for humanitarian purposes, it should be 80 to 100 percent to wipe out Russia — if that’s what we want to do.” Walberg said.
Lawmaker faces condemnation by other representatives of Michigan
The state of Michigan is inhabited by a vast population of 300,000 people who trace down their pedigree to Middle East- Arab.
In such a state where many are disheartened by the violence & Genocide in Gaza, the representative should not say such words which hurts them further, says Representative Elissa Slotkin. In her tweet on X she wrote, “a reprehensible thing for anyone to suggest, especially an elected official and someone who considers himself a man of faith. Rep. Walberg should take back his comments, and try to put himself in the shoes of the many Michiganders who see themselves in the casualties in Gaza,”.
Another representative of Michigan Assembly – Daniel Kildee on X quoted, “It is an indefensible position to argue against humanitarian aid for the people of Gaza while also calling for the wholesale massacre of the Palestinian people. I couldn’t disagree more with these extreme & dangerous comments,”.
Justin Amash, a former US representative for Michigan and a Palestinian American, “For him to suggest that hundreds of thousands of innocent Palestinians should be obliterated, including my own relatives sheltering at an Orthodox Christian church, is reprehensible and indefensible.”
Walberg’s office responds to the trolling
The official statement of the congressman’s office says, “clearly uses a metaphor to support Israel’s swift elimination of Hamas, which is the best chance to save lives long-term and the only hope at achieving a permanent peace in the region.”
The 72-year-old lawmaker took to X on Sunday to clean his tainted picture and tweets, “As a child who grew up in the Cold War Era, the last thing I’d advocate for would be the use of nuclear weapons. In a shortened clip, I used a metaphor to convey the need for both Israel and Ukraine to win their wars as swiftly as possible, without putting American troops in harm’s way.” He also added that his words were twisted to sound demonic.
