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Human Rights Advocates Slam Trump for 'Palestinian' Insult in Debate with Biden

Republican presidential candidate and former US President Donald Trump gestures as he speaks during a press conference at Trump Tower in New York City, US, May 31, 2024. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
Republican presidential candidate and former US President Donald Trump gestures as he speaks during a press conference at Trump Tower in New York City, US, May 31, 2024. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
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Human Rights Advocates Slam Trump for 'Palestinian' Insult in Debate with Biden

Republican presidential candidate and former US President Donald Trump gestures as he speaks during a press conference at Trump Tower in New York City, US, May 31, 2024. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
Republican presidential candidate and former US President Donald Trump gestures as he speaks during a press conference at Trump Tower in New York City, US, May 31, 2024. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights

Human rights advocates on Friday condemned former President Donald Trump's references to Palestinians, and immigrants allegedly taking Black American jobs, during Thursday's debate with President Joe Biden, calling the remarks racist or insulting.

Biden and Trump had a brief exchange on the war in Gaza but did not have a substantive discussion on how to end the conflict which has killed 38,000 in the enclave, according to the Gaza health ministry, and caused a massive humanitarian crisis with widespread hunger.

"The only one who wants the war to continue is Hamas," Biden said. Trump responded by saying Biden has "become like a Palestinian," which rights advocates said came across as a slur.

"Actually, Israel is the one (that wants to keep going), and you should let them go and let them finish the job. He (Biden) doesn’t want to do it. He's become like a Palestinian but they don't like him because he's a very bad Palestinian. He's a weak one," Trump said, Reuters reported.

On Friday, Trump again used the term 'Palestinian' in a similar way, this time saying in a rally that Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who is Jewish, was Palestinian. "He's become a Palestinian because they have a couple more votes or something," he added.

The Council on American Islamic Relations advocacy group said Biden was wrong to claim that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants the war to end, while adding it viewed Trump's Palestinian comment in the debate as a racist insult.

"Former President Trump's use of 'Palestinian' as an insult was racist. President Biden's touting of his military support for the Israeli government's genocide in Gaza was callous," Corey Saylor, research and advocacy director at CAIR, said in a statement. Israel denies allegations of genocide.

"To insinuate that being Palestinian is somehow a bad thing, as former President Trump did when he called President Biden Palestinian, reeks of racism and anti-Arab hatred," Paul O'Brien, executive director of Amnesty International USA, told Reuters.

Human rights advocates have reported a rise in Islamophobia, anti-Palestinian bias and antisemitism in the US since the latest eruption of conflict in the Middle East. The war in Gaza and Washington's support for Israel has also led to months of protests across the United States calling for an end to the conflict.

Trump also faced criticism for using the term "Black jobs" and "Hispanic jobs" while claiming immigrants who were coming into the United States from its border with Mexico were taking away those employment opportunities.

The Trump campaign did not have an immediate comment to the criticism.

Immigration is a key election issue and Trump has claimed Biden has failed to secure the southern US border, ushering in scores of criminals. Studies show immigrants do not commit crimes at a higher rate than native-born Americans.

"The fact is that his (Biden's) big kill on the Black people is the millions of people that he's allowed to come in through the border," Trump said during the debate. "They're taking Black jobs, and they're taking Hispanic jobs."

Civil rights organization NAACP wrote on X: "What exactly are Black and Hispanic Jobs!?!". It added: "There is no such thing as a Black Job."

Amnesty International's O'Brien told Reuters that Trump's comments on immigration were grounded in white supremacy.

"It is disheartening that false narratives grounded in white supremacy and racism about people seeking asylum at the border and immigrant communities in the United States continue to permeate our national discourse," he added.

Adrianne Shropshire, executive director of BlackPAC, an organization that works to mobilize Black voters, said Trump's remarks were not true and that Biden should have pushed back harder on such false claims.

"That there are specific Black jobs for Black people that immigrants are coming to take. Utter nonsense," Shropshire said.

Trump's campaign has made an effort to court Black voters, with the former president visiting Detroit and Philadelphia in recent weeks. Some polls have shown a downtick in support for Biden among Black voters, who historically have been among the Democratic Party’s most loyal voting blocs.

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2 US Aircraft Shot Down as War in Iran Escalates. At Least 1 Crew Member is Missing

Image circulating of American warplanes flying during the pilot rescue operation in western Iran (Social Media)
Image circulating of American warplanes flying during the pilot rescue operation in western Iran (Social Media)
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2 US Aircraft Shot Down as War in Iran Escalates. At Least 1 Crew Member is Missing

Image circulating of American warplanes flying during the pilot rescue operation in western Iran (Social Media)
Image circulating of American warplanes flying during the pilot rescue operation in western Iran (Social Media)

Iran shot down two US military planes in separate attacks Friday, with one service member rescued and at least one missing, in a dramatic escalation since the war began nearly five weeks ago.

It was the first time US aircraft have been downed in the conflict and came just two days after President Donald Trump said in a national address that the US has “beaten and completely decimated Iran” and was “going to finish the job, and we’re going to finish it very fast.”

One fighter jet was shot down in Iran, officials said. A US crew member from that plane was rescued, but a second was missing, and a US military search-and-rescue operation was underway, reported The Associated Press.

Neither the White House nor Pentagon released public information about the downed planes. In a brief telephone interview with NBC News, Trump declined to discuss the search-and-rescue efforts but said what happened would not affect negotiations with Iran.

“No, not at all. No, it’s war,” he said.

Separately, Iranian state media said a US A-10 attack aircraft crashed in the Arabian Gulf after being struck by Iranian defense forces.

A US official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive military situation said earlier that it was not clear if the aircraft crashed or was shot down or whether Iran was involved. Neither the status of the crew nor exactly where it went down was immediately known.

Those incidents came as Iran fired on targets across the Middle East on Friday, keeping the pressure on Israel and its Gulf Arab neighbors despite US and Israeli insistence that Iran’s military capabilities have been all but destroyed.

Second service member's status unknown

Neither the White House nor the Pentagon released public information about the downed planes. But the Pentagon notified the House Armed Services Committee that the status of a second service member from the fighter jet was not known.

In an email from the Pentagon obtained by The Associated Press, meanwhile, the military said it received notification of “an aircraft being shot down” in the Middle East, without providing more details.

Iran’s attacks on Gulf energy infrastructure and its tight grip on the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas transits in peacetime, have roiled stock markets, sent oil prices skyrocketing, and threatened to raise the cost of many basic goods, including food.

Downed jet could mark a new level of pressure on the US Prior to word of the rescue, social media footage showed American drones, aircraft and helicopters flying over the mountainous region where a TV channel affiliated with Iranian state television said earlier that at least one pilot bailed out of the fighter jet.

An anchor urged residents to hand over any “enemy pilot” to police and promised a reward.

It was the first time the US has lost aircraft in Iranian territory during the conflict and could mark a new level of pressure on the US military.

Throughout the war, Iran has made a series of claims about shooting down piloted enemy aircraft that turned out not to be true. Friday was the first time that Iran went on television urging the public to look for a downed pilot.

Iranian state media said in a post on the social platform X that the military shot down a US F-15E Strike Eagle. The aircraft is a variation of the Air Force fighter jet that carries a pilot and weapons system officer.

Alan Diehl, a former investigator for the Air Force Safety Center, said the Strike Eagle has an emergency locator beacon in a survival kit that can be set to activate automatically or manually.

News about the downed planes came after Iran attacked Kuwait’s Mina al-Ahmadi oil refinery. The state-run Kuwait Petroleum Corp. said firefighters were working to control several blazes.

In Lebanon, where Israel has launched a ground invasion in its fight with the pro-Iranian Hezbollah militant group, an Israeli drone strike on worshippers leaving Friday prayers near Beirut killed two people, according to the state‑run National News Agency

More than 1,900 people have been killed in Iran since the war began on Feb. 28 with US and Israeli strikes. In a review released Friday, the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data, a US-based group, said it found that civilian casualties were clustered around strikes on security and state-linked sites “rather than indiscriminate bombardment” of urban areas.

More than two dozen people have died in Gulf states and the occupied West Bank, 19 have been reported dead in Israel and 13 US service members have been killed.

More than 1,300 people have been killed and more than 1 million displaced in Lebanon. Ten Israeli soldiers have also died there.

Iran keeps a chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz

World leaders, meanwhile, have struggled to end Iran’s stranglehold on the waterway, which has had far-reaching consequences for the global economy and has proved to be its greatest strategic advantage in the war.

The UN Security Council was expected to take up the matter Saturday.

Trump has vacillated on America’s role in the strait, alternately threatening Iran if it does not open the strait and telling other nations to “go get your own oil.” On Friday he said in a post on social media that, “With a little more time, we can easily OPEN THE HORMUZ STRAIT, TAKE THE OIL, & MAKE A FORTUNE.”

Spot prices of Brent crude, the international standard, were around $109, up more than 50% since the start of the war, when Iran began restricting traffic through the strait.

World

Putin, Erdogan Urge Immediate Middle East Ceasefire

Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty at the Senate Palace of the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia April 2, 2026. (Alexander Zemlianichenko/Pool via Reuters)
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty at the Senate Palace of the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia April 2, 2026. (Alexander Zemlianichenko/Pool via Reuters)
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Putin, Erdogan Urge Immediate Middle East Ceasefire

Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty at the Senate Palace of the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia April 2, 2026. (Alexander Zemlianichenko/Pool via Reuters)
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty at the Senate Palace of the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia April 2, 2026. (Alexander Zemlianichenko/Pool via Reuters)

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for an immediate ceasefire in the Middle East war during a phone call on Friday, the Kremlin said.

The war started over a month ago with US-Israeli strikes on Iran, triggering a conflict throughout the Middle East that has convulsed the global economy and impacted millions of people worldwide.

"The leaders noted their shared positions on the need for an immediate ceasefire and the development of compromise peace agreements that take into account the legitimate interests of all states in the region," a Kremlin statement said.

"It was noted that intense military action is leading to serious negative consequences not only regionally but also globally, including in the areas of energy, trade, and logistics," it added.

Putin and Erdogan also discussed "the importance of coordinated measures to comprehensively ensure security in the Black Sea area," Kremlin said, accusing Ukraine of "attempts to target gas transportation infrastructure linking Russia and Türkiye".

On Thursday, Russian forces repelled a drone attack on part of the TurkStream gas pipeline that connects southern Russia and Türkiye, the pipeline's operator Gazprom said.

Several European countries, including Hungary, Slovakia and Serbia, receive gas supplies via the pipeline.

Russia has accused Ukraine of attacking it multiple times, most recently in March.

Ukraine has struck Russian energy infrastructure throughout the nearly four-year war, in a bid to sap Moscow's ability to finance its offensive.

Russian strikes on Ukrainian energy facilities have cut power and heating to millions of people since the beginning of its full-scale assault in 2022.

World

US Fighter Shot Down Over Iran as Trump Threatens to Hit More Infrastructure

A view of the B1 bridge is pictured, a day after it was destroyed by a strike in Karaj, around 20miles (35kms) southwest of Tehran, April 3, 2026. (AFP)
A view of the B1 bridge is pictured, a day after it was destroyed by a strike in Karaj, around 20miles (35kms) southwest of Tehran, April 3, 2026. (AFP)
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US Fighter Shot Down Over Iran as Trump Threatens to Hit More Infrastructure

A view of the B1 bridge is pictured, a day after it was destroyed by a strike in Karaj, around 20miles (35kms) southwest of Tehran, April 3, 2026. (AFP)
A view of the B1 bridge is pictured, a day after it was destroyed by a strike in Karaj, around 20miles (35kms) southwest of Tehran, April 3, 2026. (AFP)

Iran shot down a US warplane on Friday, setting off a search by both sides for surviving crew as the war looked set to intensify with President Donald Trump threatening more attacks on civilian infrastructure.

Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps said it was combing an area near where the plane came down in southwestern Iran. The regional governor promised a commendation for anyone who captured or killed the pilot.

A US military official confirmed that a fighter jet had been shot down and a search was under way.

Iranian news agencies said US helicopters were flying low on apparent search missions and carried videos of residents shooting at them.

DETAILS UNCLEAR OF US FIGHTER JET DOWNED BY IRAN

There were no confirmed details of the searches or the type of aircraft shot down, which the Iranian military said was an F-35, a single-seater. The Pentagon and US Central Command did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The loss underlined the risk still faced by US and Israeli aircraft over Iran, despite assertions by Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that their forces had total control of the skies.

Nearly five weeks after the US and Israel opened the campaign with a wave of strikes that killed Supreme Leader ‌Ali Khamenei, there is ‌no sign of an end to the war, which has already killed thousands and threatened lasting damage ‌to the global ⁠economy.

On Thursday, Trump ⁠posted footage on social media showing dust and smoke billowing up as US strikes hit the newly constructed B1 bridge between Tehran and nearby Karaj, which was due to open this year, and said more attacks would follow.

"Our Military, the greatest and most powerful (by far!) anywhere in the World, hasn't even started destroying what’s left in Iran. Bridges next, then Electric Power Plants!" he wrote in a subsequent post.

Despite the pressure, Iran has been able to hit back at Israel and strike Gulf countries.

On Friday, as Trump threatened to hit its bridges and power plants, Iran struck a power and water plant in Kuwait.

Trump urged Iran's leaders ⁠to seek peace, saying on social media that Iran "knows what has to be done, and has to be done, FAST!".

But ‌Tehran has shown no sign of acquiescence and Trump faces growing pressure to find a quick ‌resolution, with anger building at home and his Republican Party in danger of losing control of Congress at elections in November.

Negotiations conducted via intermediaries with new leaders in Iran have ‌shown little sign of progress, and polls indicate most Americans oppose the war.

'TAKE THE OIL AND MAKE A FORTUNE'

At the same time, the economic ‌impact has been global, with Iran's grip on the strategic shipping lane in the Strait of Hormuz giving it a choke hold on oil and gas.

Trump has expressed anger at US allies that have refused his calls to help re-open the strait, through which a fifth of global oil and liquefied gas passes in normal times. On Friday, he said reopening it would not be difficult.

"With a little more time, we can easily OPEN THE HORMUZ STRAIT, TAKE THE OIL,& MAKE A FORTUNE," he said on Truth Social.

The ‌US and Israel say they have degraded Iran's military capacity. But Iranian media have issued daily reports of attacks on civilian sites too, including schools, pharmaceutical suppliers and health facilities.

On Thursday, the century-old Pasteur Institute in the ⁠heart of Tehran was severely damaged, the ⁠Health Ministry said. On Friday, a drone hit a Red Crescent relief warehouse in the Choghadak area of the southern Bushehr province.

Over 100 American international law experts said the conduct of US forces and statements by senior US officials "raise serious concerns about violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law, including potential war crimes".

For its part, Iran has continued to strike targets around the Gulf.

Kuwait Petroleum Corporation said its Mina al-Ahmadi refinery had been hit by drones. Other attacks were also reported to have been intercepted in Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi. Missile debris landed near the Israeli port of Haifa, site of a major oil refinery.

IRAN WAR CAUSES GLOBAL ECONOMIC UPHEAVAL

Global financial markets have whipsawed in response to expectations of a possible end to the war and the re-opening of the Strait, which only isolated vessels have been able to transit.

The closure has also squeezed shipments of fertilizer, threatening a humanitarian crisis in developing countries in Asia and Africa, underlined by data showing a sharp rise in global food prices in March.

On Friday, a container ship belonging to the French shipping group CMA CGM passed through, MarineTraffic vessel tracking data showed, a sign that Iran may not consider France hostile. A liquefied natural gas ship belonging to Japan's Mitsui OSK Lines also transited.

Oil markets were closed after benchmark US crude prices gained 11% on Thursday following a speech by Trump that offered no clear sign of an imminent end to the war.

The UN Security Council is set to vote on Saturday on a Bahraini resolution to protect commercial shipping in and around the strait, diplomats said, but veto-wielding China made clear its opposition to authorizing armed intervention.