Former US President Donald Trump has brazenly recommended the strategic acumen of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. Chatting with supporters in Florida, Trump, a frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, stated: “You know, Hezbollah is very smart,” Trump said. “They’re all very sensible.”
Trump also criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s response to the recent attack by Hamas militants, which claimed the lives of over 1,300 people in Israel and led to the capture of dozens. Trump claimed that Netanyahu and Israel were unprepared for the assault.
“He was not ready. He was not ready and Israel was not ready. And below Trump, they would not have needed to be ready,” Trump said in an interview to Fox News.
During his Florida rally, Trump expressed his support for Israel, assuring the crowd that his prayers were with the country and reiterating his commitment to stand by Israel and assist in efforts to dismantle Hamas. However, he then proceeded to recount an undisclosed incident involving Israel’s leaders.
He revealed, “Israel was alleged to be a part of this operation with us. We had been planning and coordinating for months to get rid of Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the top of Iran’s Quds Drive.” Trump detailed how everything was in place, but the night before the operation, he received a call informing him that Israel had opted out of the attack.
“This can be a story nobody has heard earlier than,” Trump stated emphatically. “They by no means supplied us with a cause.”
“I’ll always remember that Bibi Netanyahu disillusioned us,” he continued.
Expressing disappointment, he added, “We have been deeply let down by that call. Nevertheless, we efficiently executed the mission ourselves with absolute precision… after which Bibi tried to say credit score for it.”
White House spokesman Andrew Bates condemned the former US President’s remarks as “reckless and unhinged,” while many Republican adversaries of Trump criticized him for disparaging a key American ally during a moment of crisis.
Israeli communications minister Shlomo Karhi expressed his lack of confidence in Trump’s statements, saying that they revealed he could not be trusted.
“It’s disgraceful for a former US president to endorse propaganda and unfold info that demoralizes the spirit of Israel’s fighters and its residents,” Karhi stated to Israel’s Channel 13.
(With inputs from inputs)