Trump criticizes Netanyahu, receives backlash from DeSantis, Pence and the White House

In the midst of the war between Israel and Hamas, Donald Trump criticized Benjamin Netanyahu for not helping him eliminate Qasem Soleimani, leader of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, who was killed on orders of then President Trump in January 2020. Following the statements, he received backlash from Republican and Democratic rivals, who claimed that the criticism is inappropriate given the context.

The favorite to be the Republican nominee for president spoke Tuesday in Florida before about 3,500 supporters, where he made his case for returning to the White House in 2024. In an almost two-hour long speech, he covered a wide range of topics, including the current situation in Israel.

According to Trump, if he had been elected again in 2020, none of this would have happened. "Israel would be flourishing, they would have no problem. Iran would have never played that game." Instead, Trump said, the result was "chaos, bloodshed, war, terror, death," and he did not rule out a Third World War.

Moments later, Trump went at the Israeli prime minister. Recalling the assassination of Soleimani in 2020, he said he would "never forget that Bibi Netanyahu let us down," given that he was not involved in the orchestration of the attack.

DeSantis responds: ‘It is absurd’

Ron DeSantis, now second in the Republican polls, responded to his rival on X, formerly known as Twitter. "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,'" he wrote.

"As president, I will support Israel and treat terrorists like the scum they are," he said. As of Thursday, some 1,200 people have been killed by Hamas terrorists, including civilians and soldiers, while another 3,000 have been injured.

Pence: 'This is no time'

Another Republican to take shots at Trump was Mike Pence, who was his vice president from 2017 to 2021. Like DeSantis, he assured that the message was not appropriate in the context of the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. The former Indiana governor also spoke to a New Hampshire radio station and indicated that "this is no time for any former president or any other American leader to be sending any message other than America stands with Israel."

"Hezbollah aren’t smart, they’re evil," he continued. "But the former president also said when Russia invaded Ukraine in a similar, unprovoked, unconscionable invasion a year-and-a-half ago, he said Vladimir Putin was a genius," he added.

The White House also criticizes Trump

In a statement, the Biden administration said: "Statements like this are dangerous and unhinged. It’s completely lost on us why any American would ever praise an Iran-backed terrorist organization as ‘smart.’ Or have any objection to the United States warning terrorists not to attack Israel. Especially now as Israel is fighting back against one of the worst acts of mass murder in the country’s history. This is a time for all of us to stand shoulder to shoulder with Israel against ‘unadulterated evil.’ That’s what the President is doing as commander in chief.".