Republican Rep. Tim Walberg insists he was speaking metaphorically when he appeared to suggest bombs should be dropped on Gaza “like Nagasaki and Hiroshima” to “get it over quick.”
Walberg, who represents southern Michigan, was speaking with constituents in a town hall on March 25 when he made the WWII-era reference about US atomic strikes against Japan as he called for ending US aid to Gaza.
In a video posted to social media in which Walberg can be heard but not seen, the GOP congressman responded to a question from a constituent about why the US was using American dollars to build a temporary pier to provide humanitarian assistance to Gaza.
“I don’t think we should,” Walberg said of getting further humanitarian aid into Gaza, where the UN has warned famine is imminent in the north and said 70% of the population is already suffering from catastrophic levels of hunger. “We shouldn’t be spending a dime on humanitarian aid.”
He continued: “It should be like Nagasaki and Hiroshima. Get it over quick.”
In a full transcript of Walberg’s response, provided to CNN by his office, the Republican congressman added that the same logic should be used in Ukraine to “defeat Putin quick.”
“The same should be in Ukraine. Defeat Putin quick. Instead [of] 80% in Ukraine being used for humanitarian purposes, it should be 80-100% to wipe out Russia, if that’s what we want to do,” he continues, according to the transcript.
In a statement posted to X, Walberg insisted he was not suggesting that nuclear weapons be used to end the conflicts — despite his reference to the US dropping atomic bombs on two Japanese cities to bring an end to WWII.
“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, l 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. My reasoning was the exact opposite of what is being reported: the quicker these wars end, the fewer innocent lives will be caught in the crossfire,” Walberg said in the statement.
“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, distorted my message, but I fully stand by these beliefs and stand by our allies,” he added.
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