DeSantis rips Trump for criticizing Israel, calling Hezbollah ‘very smart’
by Miranda Nazzaro - 10/12/23 8:12 AM ET
Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis railed against former President Trump for calling the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah “very smart” and criticizing Israel.
“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,'” DeSantis wrote Wednesday in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
DeSantis, the governor of Florida, vowed to stand with Israel and “treat terrorists like the scum that they are.”
His comments were in response to Trump’s speech in West Palm Beach, Fla., where the former president said Hezbollah, which is based in Lebanon, is “very smart, they’re all very smart.”
Hezbollah and Israel have exchanged fire in recent days in the wake of Israel’s separate front against Palestinian militant group Hamas, which launched a multi-pronged surprise attack against Israel over the weekend.
The former president, the current front-runner in the GOP presidential race, called out the Biden administration and Israeli leaders for discussing Israel’s vulnerabilities, suggesting their public discussions helped Hezbollah plan further attacks against Israel. Trump also dug into the potential intelligence failures of Israel, which appeared somewhat unprepared for Hamas’s onslaught of attacks.
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https://thehill.com/policy/international/4251686-ron-desantis-donald-trump-israel-hezbollah-remarks/
