Donald Trump Criticizes Benjamin Netanyahu as Israel Wages War With Hamas
Former president faces backlash from Biden, GOP 2024 rivals
Former President Donald Trump is facing criticism from Democrats and Republicans for remarks in a campaign speech in which he characterized the militant group Hezbollah as “very smart” and faulted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over a 2020 mission that killed an Iranian military leader.
It was the latest example of the former president and current 2024 Republican front-runner making controversial comments related to foreign policy and leaders, even as he also vowed that if re-elected, the U.S. would support Israel in “defeating, dismantling, and permanently destroying the terrorist group, Hamas.”
More than 1,300 Israelis have been killed since the Hamas assault began over the weekend, leading to a fierce Israeli military response. At least 25 U.S. citizens have died. Gaza officials say more than 1,500 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza and another 6,600 have been injured.
President Biden highlighted Trump’s comments as wrongheaded. “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,” he said Thursday in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, linking to a video clip of Trump’s remarks Wednesday night.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a rival of Trump’s for the GOP nomination, wrote: “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.’ ”
Former Vice President Mike Pence, who also is competing for the GOP nomination, said Thursday on a New Hampshire radio program, “This is no time for the former president or any other American leader to be sending any message other than America stands with Israel.”
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Trump’s most persistent detractor on the campaign trail, said on CNN: “Only a fool would give comments that could give aid and comfort to Israel’s adversary in this situation.”
Trump appeared Wednesday in West Palm Beach, Fla., before a group of supporters known as Club 47 USA.
“You know, Hezbollah is very smart,” Trump said, recounting how he once took heat for describing Chinese leader Xi Jinping as a “very smart man.” Trump has made similar comments about the intelligence or strength of Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
A Trump spokesman said Thursday that 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.”
In the speech, Trump boasted of his efforts to support Israel. But he also criticized Netanyahu, saying the Israeli leader “let us down” in a U.S. mission that killed Iranian military leader Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani.
Trump said Israel helped work on the plan for months. “We had everything all set to go, and the night before it happened, I got a call that Israel will not be participating in this attack,” Trump said, explaining to the audience that “nobody’s heard this story before.”
“They’ve got to strengthen themselves up,” Trump said of Israel.
In a Fox News Radio interview Thursday, Trump said Netanyahu wasn’t prepared for Hamas’s attack.
“He was not prepared and Israel was not prepared. And under Trump, they wouldn’t have to be prepared,” Trump said. “Who would have thought their intelligence wouldn’t have been able to pick this up. Thousands of people were involved. Thousands of people knew about it and they let this slip by. That was not a good thing for him or for anybody.”
Some commenters, including a group supporting DeSantis’s presidential bid, linked Trump’s comments to his anger over the Israeli leader for making a congratulatory call to Biden after the 2020 election—one Trump continues to falsely claim was rigged and stolen.
While not addressing his controversial comments, Trump Thursday night in a social-media post said that Israel had “no better friend or ally.” He singled out the so-called Abraham Accords, brokered by the U.S. during his administration and signed by the U.S., Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, normalizing relations between the nations. In the same post, he criticized President Biden for his handling of issues that Trump said “emboldened our enemies.”