A campaign ad released Monday by a super PAC affiliated with GOP presidential candidate Chris Christie is attacking former President Donald Trump for saying the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah is “very smart.”
Titled “Fool,” the ad was released by the Tell It Like It Is PAC. It focuses on Mr. Christie’s criticism of Mr. Trump in a clip of a CNN interview last week.
“He’s a fool. Only a fool would make those kinds of comments,” Mr. Christie says in the clip. “Only a fool would give comments that could give aid and comfort to Israel’s adversary.”
Mr. Trump spoke last week in West Palm Beach, Florida, where he called Hezbollah “very smart” and criticized Israel and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Hezbollah is an Iran-backed terrorist group in Lebanon. The militant group fired rockets at northern Israel early last week, evoking Israeli counterstrikes.
“This is someone who cares not about the American people, not about the people of Israel, but he cares about one person and one person only: the person he sees in the mirror when he wakes up in the morning,” Mr. Christie says of Mr. Trump in the clip. “We cannot once again nominate a fool like this and get him anywhere near the presidency of the United States. And having a fool like Donald Trump, who would make those comments in the tone that he made them,is proven to folks that he has no business being the president of the United States.”
Mr. Trump has received backlash over his comments about Hezbollah by other Republican presidential candidates, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
“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,’” Mr. DeSantis wrote on X.
Mr. Trump’s campaign tried to defend his comment about Hezbollah, saying that “smart does not equal good.”
“President 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,” the campaign’s Trump War Room account posted in response to Mr. DeSantis. “Smart does not equal good. It just proves Biden is stupid. And now you look stupid, Ron.”
• Mallory Wilson can be reached at mwilson@washingtontimes.com.
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