The Trump campaign said critics have taken the former president’s recent remarks on the Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah out of context.
“Two nights ago I read all of Biden’s security people ... and they said, ‘Gee, I hope Hezbollah doesn’t attack from the north, because that’s the most vulnerable spot.’ I said, ‘Wait a minute. You know, Hezbollah is very smart.’ They’re all very smart,” President Trump said during his speech.
The former president then criticized the Israeli defense minister. He said: “And they have a national defense minister or somebody saying, ‘I hope Hezbollah doesn’t attack us from the north.’ So the following morning they attacked.”
Responses
In response to President Trump’s comments, President Biden took to X, formerly known as Twitter, saying: “Our nation’s support for Israel is resolute and unwavering. And the right time to praise the terrorists who seek to destroy them is never.”
Mr. DeSantis took to X to say President Trump’s comments were “absurd.”
“Terrorists have murdered at least 1,200 Israelis and 22 Americans and are holding more hostage, so it is absurd that anyone, much less someone running for President, would choose now to attack our friend and ally, Israel, much less praise Hezbollah terrorists as ’very smart,’” the Florida governor wrote.
The Trump campaign’s “War Room” account on X responded to the criticism, saying that “smart does not equal good.”
“President Trump was clearly pointing out how incompetent Biden and his administration were by telegraphing to the terrorists an area that is susceptible to an attack. Smart does not equal good. It just proves Biden is stupid. And now you look stupid, Ron,” the campaign wrote.
The DeSantis campaign has since fired back at the Trump campaign over its statement.
“No matter what rhetorical gymnastics act his campaign team tries to perform to attempt to once again cover for him, nobody can change the fact that last night Donald Trump showed his true colors by insulting Israelis during one of their darkest hours and simultaneously complimenting one of the terrorist groups that continue to pose a grave threat to Israelis and Americans alike,” said Andrew Romeo, communications director for the DeSantis campaign, in a statement. “It is disturbing and disqualifying.”
“I was there tonight. President Trump said Hezbollah’s sneak strategy was smart. He said they were smart enough to evade Israeli intelligence and have made their way across the US border,” Ms. Loomer wrote in an X post, before telling the Florida governor to drop out of the 2024 race.
