Trump's GOP opponents bristle at his response to Hamas' assault on Israel

Republican presidential hopefuls are rebuffing former President Donald Trump after he declared Hezbollah "very smart" and criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu days after Hamas' massacre of Israelis over the weekend. 

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley condemned the GOP presidential frontrunner's comments, after Trump's remarks on the crisis. 

At a political rally on Wednesday, Trump said Netanyahu "let us down" before the U.S. killed top Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani in 2020, and said Israeli leaders need to "step up their game." 

The former president said of Hezbollah, an Iran-backed Lebanese militia designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the State Department, "You know, Hezbollah is very smart," amid Israel's concerns that Hezbollah could open another front in the war from the north. In an interview Thursday, Trump said Netanyahu was "not prepared" for last weekend's surprise assault by Hamas.  

The conflict has resulted in thousands of deaths in Israel and Gaza combined, as of Friday, and at least 27 Americans are known to be among the dead. 

At a Friday morning DeSantis town hall in Merrimack, New Hampshire, a voter said while "there's a lot of people that generally like Trump's policies," they might not be "big fans" of his behavior– and cited his criticism of Netanyahu. 

Asked why someone should vote for DeSantis over Trump, DeSantis cited Trump's Israel comments. "Some of the things that you say you don't like, I think that's part of the reason some of the other things didn't get done. Why would I want to alienate anyone unnecessarily?" DeSantis said. "To go out and just take potshots at Netanyahu in a time of war right now, I don't see where that's where that's very productive."

While talking about Israel to reporters in Concord, New Hampshire on Thursday, DeSantis said about Trump, "You may have a personal vendetta or beef with [Netanyahu], but is that really the time to be out here doing that?"

Christie, who has not hidden his disgust with Trump on other issues, offered perhaps the strongest rebuke of the former president.

"He's a fool," Christie said of Trump on CNN. "Only a fool would make those kinds of comments. Only a fool would give comments that give aid and comfort to Israel's adversary in this situation, and he always places it in the context of himself."

"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," Christie continued. "As a Republican Party, we cannot once again nominate a fool like this to be our nominee and get him anywhere near the presidency of the United States."

In Concord, New Hampshire, as Pence filed to be on the presidential primary ballot, he was asked about Trump's comments about Hezbollah and Netanyahu.

He shook his head and responded, "I found the former president's comments to be reckless and irresponsible. Leaders in this country should be sending no message other than America stands with Israel."

"To speak in a critical way about Prime Minister Netanyahu, to refer to the terrorist organization Hezbollah as 'very smart,' I think — was incomprehensible to me," Pence said. "Hezbollah's not very smart. They're evil."

Haley, the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations under Trump, said Trump's comments point to why the U.S. needs a new generational leader. 

"This is a dangerous world," Haley said during a town hall. "I don't want to hear from him how great Hezbollah is. I don't want to see him congratulate the Communist Party anymore. I don't want him hitting Netanyahu. … We can't have someone who is so clouded with the past that they can't see the future."

Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson also had strong words for Trump. 

"Shame on you, Donald," Hutchinson wrote on Twitter. "Your constant compliments to dictators, terrorist groups, and evil-doers are beneath the office you seek and not reflective of the American character. I call on my fellow candidates and on @GOPChairwoman to condemn Donald Trump's comments immediately. Donald Trump is out of step with the Republican Party, out of touch with the American People, and out of his mind if he thinks that any candidate for president of the United States should praise the terrorists attacking one of our most important allies."

Responding to Trump's remarks, Sen. Tim Scott said the U.S. "cannot accept a single message to any enemies of Israel" that the U.S. and Israeli leaders are at odds, according to the Associated Press. 

On Friday, Trump argued that Hamas' attack on Israel never would have happened if he were president, and reiterated his false claims about the 2020 election.

"THE ATTACK ON ISRAEL WOULD NEVER HAVE HAPPENED, ZERO CHANCE, IF THE ELECTION OF 2020 WAS NOT RIGGED AND STOLLEN," Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social.

Meanwhile, Trump's former ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, who lives in Israel with his family, thanked President Biden in a tweet for his support of Israel.

"In Judaism there is an obligation of "Hakarat Hatov" — saying thank you to those who perform good deeds, Friedman wrote. "While I have been, and remain, deeply critical of the Biden Administration, the moral, tactical, diplomatic and military support that it has provided Israel over the past few days has been exceptional. As one living in Jerusalem with children who are Israeli citizens, I am deeply grateful."

Trump has insisted that no other president has done more for Israel, particularly pointing to his decision to move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, but this isn't the first time Trump's comments about Israel and the Jewish people have sparked consternation. 

In October 2022, Trump said he could "easily" be Israel's prime minister, and in the same social media post, suggested Jewish people in the U.S. don't appreciate what he has done for Israel.  In that post, Trump urged Jewish people to "get their act together and appreciate what they have in Israel — Before it is too late!"

The American Jewish Committee criticized Trump's comments at the time. 

"Support for the Jewish state never gives one license to lecture American Jews, nor does it ever give the right to draw baseless judgments about the ties between U.S. Jews and Israel," the AJC tweeted. "And to be clear, those ties are strong and enduring."

Grace Kazarian contributed to this report.

In:
• Hamas
• Israel
• Joe Biden
• Donald Trump
• Netanyahu

Kathryn Watson

Kathryn Watson is a politics reporter for CBS News Digital based in Washington, D.C.