White House Describes Trump's Remarks on Hezbollah and Israeli Defense Minister as 'Dangerous'

Andrew Bates, White House spokesperson, on Thursday, October 12, stated on X (formerly Twitter) that former U.S. President Donald Trump's remarks calling Hezbollah 'smart' and criticizing Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant were 'dangerous and unbalanced.' He continued, 'It is incomprehensible to us how an American can praise a terrorist organization supported by Iran as smart at such a time.' Donald Trump, who is seeking to compete with President Joe Biden in the 2024 presidential election, referred to Hezbollah as 'very smart' and called Yoav Gallant 'stupid' in remarks made to his supporters in Florida on Wednesday night. The former U.S. president expressed that he prays for Israel and emphasized that he stands with Israel in efforts to destroy Hamas. However, he criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for discouraging him during the operation to kill Qassem Soleimani, the former commander of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, in 2019. Trump claimed that for the first time he is sharing the narrative that 'Israel was supposed to carry out this operation with us, and it had been planned for months, and we had everything ready, but the night before the operation, I was called and told that Israel would not participate in this attack.' He stated that the operation was carried out with precision and success but that Netanyahu took credit for it. Trump's remarks also drew criticism from some of his Republican rivals. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis wrote on X that 'it is completely nonsensical for anyone, let alone someone running for president, to attack Israel, our friend and ally, in such circumstances.' He also criticized Trump for calling Hezbollah 'very smart.' As of the time of this report, Netanyahu's office had not responded to Reuters' request for comment. However, Israel's Minister of Communications told Channel 13 that 'it is shameful for a man like the former president of the United States to publish statements that hurt the morale of fighters and citizens of Israel.' When asked if Trump's remarks clearly indicate that he cannot be trusted, he replied, 'Of course.'