Biden, DeSantis Criticize Trump Hezbollah Comments

Facts

• Former US Pres. Donald Trump has faced bipartisan criticism following comments made on Wednesday night in which he described Hezbollah —an Iran-backed group based in Lebanon on Israel's northern border, which fired missiles into an Israeli military site earlier this week — as 'smart.”¹
• Trump's full comment was: 'And then two nights ago, I read all of Biden security people — can you imagine? National defense people and they said, 'Gee, I hope Hezbollah doesn’t attack from the north because that’s the most vulnerable spot.' I said, 'Wait a minute. You know, Hezbollah is very smart. They’re all very smart.''²
• In response to the comments, White House spokesman Andrew Bates claimed that such a statement was “dangerous and unhinged.'³
• Trump was also condemned by Republican presidential hopeful and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who posted on social media platform X that the comment was 'absurd.”⁴
• DeSantis also took issue with a further comment made by Trump, in which the former president claimed that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu 'let us down' by not supporting the assassination of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani. Trump further alleged that Netanyahu then tried to take credit for the assassination.⁴
• In response, the Trump campaign issued a statement that claimed the former president was 'clearly' criticizing the Biden administration for “telegraphing” an area “susceptible to an attack,' adding that 'Smart does not equal good.'²

Sources: ¹New York Post, ²NBC, ³Reuters and ⁴Washington Examiner.

Narratives

• Anti-Trump, as provided by Raw Story. Trump's tone-deaf comments are a liability to not only himself but to the Republican Party as a whole. While he praises militant groups like Hezbollah, his congressional allies on Capitol Hill are hindering the US' ability to help its closest ally in the Middle East. This is not the look of a competent leader or political party.
• Pro-Trump narrative, as provided by Morning Star. Context is everything, which is why it's deceptive to quote only one word out of an entire speech Trump gave. Trump was responding to Biden officials' careless comments, rightly saying it can't be assumed that Hezbollah is dumb and wouldn't attack a vulnerable part of Israel. He was simply acknowledging the failures of both US and Israeli intelligence, not patting terrorist groups on the back.