There aren’t a lot of issues that unite the Biden White House, GOP presidential contenders, and allies of Donald Trump. But one thing that has? The ex-president’s decision to praise Hezbollah, which has been designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the US. The militant group congratulated Hamas on its Saturday attack on Israel and is viewed as the biggest threat to the Jewish state.
Responding to Trump’s description of Hezbollah as “very smart”—as well as to his criticism of US and Israeli officials for warning of a potential Hezbollah attack on Israel from the north—White House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates said in a statement that the former president’s remarks were “dangerous and unhinged.” He added: “It’s completely lost on us why any American would ever praise an Iran-backed terrorist organization as ‘smart.’ Or have any objection to the United States warning terrorists not to attack Israel. Especially now as Israel is fighting back against one of the worst acts of mass murder in the country’s history.”
In an interview with The Washington Post, Mort Klein, the president of the Zionist Organization of America, which has previously honored Trump, said the former president’s comments were “reckless and irresponsible,” adding: “I’m so ashamed of what he said. How does he expect support from people who care about Israel after making statements like this?” Meanwhile, former GOP representative Liz Cheney, a longtime Trump critic, also took the ex-president to task. “After Hamas slaughters hundreds of Jewish families, and Israel confronts an unprecedented security crisis, Donald Trump attacks the Israeli govt and praises Hezbollah terrorists,” she wrote. “Are Republicans really going to nominate this dangerous man to be President of the United States?”
Trump’s comments were also panned by some of his 2024 opponents, including Ron DeSantis, who wrote, “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.’” And in a radio interview on Thursday, Mike Pence echoed that sentiment, saying, “This is no time for any former president or any other American leader to be sending any message other than America stands with Israel.”
As the Post noted, “Trump’s comments reflected his long-established pattern of slighting US allies while complimenting adversaries such as Chinese president Xi Jinping, Russian president Vladimir Putin, and North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un.” Trump even sided with Putin during the infamous 2018 Helsinki summit, where the then president publicly refuted US intelligence findings that Russia had meddled in the 2016 election, despite robust evidence for that being the case. Meanwhile, in February 2022, Trump dubbed Russia’s Ukraine invasion plan “genius” and called Putin “savvy.” The following month, he called on Putin to release dirt on Joe Biden:
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Bess Levin
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