Trump condemned as he expects another ‘thank you’ for doing the right thing - this time on Gaza

It was one of the biggest moments from that infamous Oval Office meeting between US president and vice president Donald Trump and JD Vance, and Ukranian president Volodymyr Zelensky, back in February.

Snapping at the Ukrainian leader, Vance asked Zelensky: “Have you said thank you once?”

After he replied to say he had done so “a lot of times”, the vice president pressed again: “Offer some words of appreciation for the United States of America and the president who is trying to save your country.”

Following that disastrous moment, Zelensky made headlines when he took to Twitter/X to say thank you – but to other countries showing solidarity with Ukraine following Trump and Vance’s outburst.

  Getty

Well now, it seems Trump expects another ‘thank you’ for helping a warzone – this time concerning the ongoing devastation in Gaza.

Speaking in Scotland on Sunday, with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen sitting next to him, the US president told reporters: “We gave $60 million, two weeks ago - and nobody even acknowledged it – for food.

“It’s terrible. You know, you really at least want to have somebody to say ‘thank you’ … Nobody acknowledged it, nobody talks about it, and it makes you feel a little bad when you do that.

“Nobody gave but us, and nobody said, ‘gee, thank you very much’, and it would be nice to have at least a thank you.”

Yes, he really said that, and made similar remarks a day later, on Monday, when appearing alongside UK prime minister, Sir Keir Starmer.

Unsurprisingly, social media users have expressed outrage at Trump’s demand:

In one scathing response, a Twitter/X user pointed out that “starving children don’t have the ability to say thank you”:

There was also attention drawn to the reactions from the other political leaders after Trump issued such remarks, with political commentator @JoJoFromJerz writing that Starmer appeared “f***ing mortified”:

Alongside repeating his desire for a ‘thank you’ for what many would say is doing the right thing as a powerful leader in the Western world, Monday saw Trump take a different stance to that of Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who claimed on Sunday that “there is no policy of starvation in Gaza and there is no starvation in Gaza”.

Israel initiated an 11-week blockade on aid back in March. On Thursday, Unicef’s regional director for the Middle East and North Africa, Edouard Beigbeder, said June saw the number of children with malnutrition reach its highest level since the conflict began, with 6,500 children admitted for treatment.

Going against Netanyahu’s claims, Trump said: “Some of those kids are... that's real starvation stuff. I see it, and you can't fake that.”

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