![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/cdn.christianpost.com\/assets\/img\/icon\/chat-rect.svg\")
<\/a>![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/cdn.christianpost.com\/assets\/img\/icon\/share-outline.svg\")
<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n![](\"https:\/\/cdn.christianpost.com\/images\/cache\/image\/14\/46\/144634_w_760_519.webp\")
<\/source><\/picture>Former President Donald Trump is receiving criticism from his Republican rivals for referring to the terrorist organization Hezbollah as \u201cvery smart\u201d and talking about how Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu \u201clet us down\u201d in the past as his country reels in the wake of Hamas’ terror attacks.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Trump, currently the frontrunner for the Republican nomination for president in the 2024 presidential election, addressed the aftermath of Hamas\u2019 attacks in Israel during a speech<\/a> in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Wednesday. He asserted that \u201cnational defense people\u201d working for the Biden administration were saying, \u201cGee, I hope Hezbollah doesn\u2019t attack from the north because that\u2019s the most vulnerable spot.\u201d<\/p>\n The former president recalled reacting to the concerns about a Hezbollah attack by thinking that \u201cHezbollah\u2019s very smart\u201d and mocked the idea that Biden administration officials would make Israel\u2019s enemies aware of its national security weaknesses. He acknowledged that \u201cthe press doesn\u2019t like when [I] say that\u201d as well as when he makes similar characterizations about Chinese President Xi Jinping.<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s characterization of Hezbollah as \u201cvery smart\u201d was not the only aspect of his speech that spurred a negative reaction from critics.\u00a0<\/p>\n While Trump praised and vowed to stand with Israel during his remarks<\/a>, he also brought up how \u201cI did have a bad experience with Israel.\u201d According to Trump, \u201cWhen we took out [terrorist Qasem Soleimani], it was us and Israel working as a group and we knew where he was, we knew how he was coming in, we knew the plane, we knew everything. We worked on it for weeks, for months, actually.<\/p>\n \u201cIsrael was going to do this with us and it was being planned and working on it for months and now 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,\u201d he added. While the U.S. killed Soleimani on its own, Trump told the crowd, \u201cI\u2019ll never forget that Bibi Netanyahu let us down. That was a very terrible thing.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Trump insisted that \u201cBibi tried to take credit\u201d for the attack that took out Soleimani, adding, \u201cThat didn\u2019t make me feel too good.\u201d<\/p>\n Bob Vander Plaats<\/a>, CEO of the Iowa-based religious advocacy group The FAMiLY Leader, reacted to the former president\u2019s assertions during the speech as \u201cdisturbing.\u201d<\/p>\n Vander Plaats took to X to summarize and condemn Trump\u2019s analysis: \u201cThe former #POTUS @realDonaldTrump telling the world #Israel let us down while calling out Hezbollah and Hamas, backed by Iran, as very smart. Raping women and butchering children isn\u2019t smart. It\u2019s evil.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis<\/a>, currently Trump\u2019s chief rival for the Republican nomination, weighed in on the former president\u2019s statements about Hezbollah and Israel while campaigning in New Hampshire. \u201cThis is a time to be standing with Israel and to be attacking the Prime Minister \u2026 just makes no sense,\u201d he said. \u201cTo be saying that Hezbollah, talking about how smart they are, just doesn\u2019t make any sense.\u201d<\/p>\n “Makes no sense”: @RonDeSantis<\/a> rips Trump for attacking Bibi Netanyahu days after 1,200 Israelis and 25 Americans were murdered by Hamas. pic.twitter.com\/iiKqx2wFjN<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 DeSantis War Room ???? (@DeSantisWarRoom) October 12, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Former Vice President Mike Pence, another candidate for the Republican nomination who served as Trump\u2019s second-in-command for four years, also issued a response to Trump\u2019s speech in an appearance<\/a> on the radio program \u201cNew Hampshire Today\u201d on Thursday: \u201cThis is no time for the former president or any other American leader to be sending any message other than \u2018America stands with Israel.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHezbollah are not smart; they\u2019re evil,\u201d Pence proclaimed. The former vice president also expressed disappointment that his former boss called Russian President Vladimir Putin a \u201cgenius\u201d for invading Ukraine last year.\u00a0<\/p>\n Trump reacted to the backlash his comments received in a statement<\/a> posted on his campaign website Thursday by defending his administration\u2019s foreign policy record pertaining to Israel: \u201cThere was no better friend or ally of Israel than President Donald J. Trump. Under my leadership, the United States stood in complete solidarity with Israel, and as a result, Israel was safe, America was safe, and for the first time in decades, we made historic strides for Peace in the Middle East.\u201d<\/p>\n The former president vowed that \u201cwith President Trump back in office, Israel, and everyone else, will be SAFE AGAIN!\u201d<\/p>\n Ryan Foley is a reporter for The Christian Post. He can be reached at: ryan.foley@christianpost.com<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Join thousands of others to get the FREEDOM POST<\/strong> newsletter for free, sent twice a week from The Christian Post.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
Free<\/span> Religious Freedom Updates<\/h2>\n