The Daily Fuckup

Donald Trump’s comments on the Israel-Hamas war were still reverberating on October 15, four days after he used a Florida appearance to criticize Israeli leaders and praise Hezbollah as “very smart.” The remarks came on October 11 and prompted quick pushback from Republican rivals and the White House, which called them “dangerous and unhinged.” Trump later tried to clean up the episode by saying he stood with Israel and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. ([apnews.com](https://apnews.com/article/7fb4181b664bb28408ff92b8e5565ced))

At the October 11 event in West Palm Beach, Trump said Netanyahu had “let us down” and said the Israeli leader and his security services had not been prepared for Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack. He also said, “You know, Hezbollah is very smart. They’re all very smart,” and argued that Israeli officials needed to “step up their game.” Those remarks gave his critics an easy line of attack: they said he was praising an Iran-backed militant group while Israel was under fire. ([apnews.com](https://apnews.com/article/7fb4181b664bb28408ff92b8e5565ced))

The blowback spread quickly through the Republican field. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie condemned Trump’s comments, and the White House joined in with its own rebuke. By the next day, the episode had become another example of how one Trump speech can keep generating damage after the cameras stop rolling. ([washingtonpost.com](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/10/12/trump-israel-netanyahu-comments/))