Analysis: What is Abdul Rahman Al-Sayed’s relationship with Trump’s announcement to stop American aid to Israel?

Wolf from Ofoq News Network - It has only been a short time since Election Day has begun, but one of the issues raised in the election campaigns has already begun to have policy repercussions. US President Donald Trump surprised even Fox News hosts when he announced during an interview on Tuesday that he would stop US military aid to Israel by the end of the year, due to the criticism he was being subjected to from the political left.

Trump said, referring to the Democratic Senate candidate for Michigan, Abdul Rahman Al-Sayed: “Why should we endure the arrows of criticism from crazy people like (Abdul Rahman) Al-Sayed, when they (the Israelis) do not need this aid?” Trump claimed that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told him that Israel did not need that aid. Ofek News Network contacted the Israeli Prime Minister's Office and the White House for comment.

If he wins the elections, Abdul Rahman Al-Sayyid will become the first Muslim member of the US Senate. Aid to Israel was a major issue in this electoral race. Democratic Representative Haley Stevens expressed her anger at an announcement issued by an external group supporting Al-Sayyid, linking the aid provided to Israel with the suffering of Americans from the high cost of living.

This appears to have contributed to her sudden decision, on Sunday, to withdraw her support for the Democratic candidate and switch to supporting the Republican Party candidate. The value of the US aid in question amounts to slightly less than $4 billion annually, and it also benefits the US defense industry sector, as it is used to purchase US-made military equipment.

Trump said that Israel can continue to purchase this equipment with its own money. When asked whether the move to halt aid was specifically aimed at depriving the left of using this issue as a card in its political campaigns, Trump hinted that this was indeed one of the goals of the move.

“The left is using these $4 billion payments, which is a fact that everyone knows and is not a secret, to suggest there is inequity, and we cannot let that happen,” Trump told Fox News. But it should be noted that Congress, not the president, is the body responsible for allocating American taxpayer money.

Last July, more than 100 Democratic lawmakers voted in favor of an ultimately unsuccessful amendment aimed at halting military aid to Israel. In anticipation of the spending battle that might break out if Democrats take control of Congress, Trump stated that he will use the money that will be provided by stopping aid to try to balance the federal budget, something that has not been achieved for years, partly due to the tax cuts approved by Trump and the Republicans.