Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday pushed back hard on former President Donald Trump’s description of Hezbollah as “very smart” and described Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a “great leader” when asked about Trump’s criticism of Netanyahu.
“I can’t disagree more,” McConnell told reporters when asked about Trump’s assertion that Hezbollah is “very smart”, as quoted by The Hill.
McConnell called Hezbollah “a terrorist organization just like Hamas.”
The Senate Republican leader also praised Netanyahu when asked about Trump’s recent criticism of Netanyahu, saying, “Prime Minister Netanyahu is one of the great leaders of modern times.”
Trump recently came under fire for a series of statements against Netanyahu, including in a speech in Florida, when he accused Netanyahu of being unprepared for the Hamas attacks and called Hezbollah "very smart."
A subsequent report claimed that Trump had told pro-Israel GOP allies and donors that he would like for Netanyahu to be removed from office before Trump would potentially be back in office.
However, Trump later published a statement in which he clarified his support for Israel and also expressed support for Netanyahu when he wrote on his Truth Social platform, “#IStandWithIsrael” and “#IStandWithBibi”.