“They’re All Very Smart”: Trump Expresses Praise and Admiration for Terror Organization Backed by Iran

William FurneyOct 30, 2023

Minute Read

As war rages in the Middle East, Donald Trump has again stoked fury by suggesting that members of Lebanese terror organization Hezbollah are clever after previously calling them “very smart.”

Hezbollah and Trump ‘Smart’

Editorial credit: Rokas Tenys / Shutterstock.

The former president shared an article on his Truth Social network by conservative political commentator Jeffrey Lord that said he was right when he said Hezbollah was smart, and that Trump was “smart” as well. In a speech in October, Trump had said: “You know, Hezbollah is very smart. They’re all very smart.”

Clarification of Remarks

Image Credit: rarrarorro / Shutterstock.

Trump’s campaign later clarified that “smart does not equal good” and that Trump, who is campaigning for the White House, had been “clearly pointing out how incompetent Biden and his administration were by telegraphing to the terrorists an area that is susceptible to an attack.”

Same Terror Goal

Editorial credit: Anas-Mohammed / Shutterstock.

Both Hamas and Hezbollah are backed by Iran and have been designated terror organizations by the United States and other countries. The groups’ stated aim is the destruction of Israel and an end to the Jewish state in the Middle East. Hamas launched a massive attack on Israel on October 7, killing around 1,400 people and igniting a war with its neighbor that so far claimed over 7,700 lives. Hezbollah has been increasing its strikes on Israel amid fears it could be drawn into the conflict, sparking a wider war in the Middle East.

Smart vs Good and Evil

Editorial credit: Crush Rush / Shutterstock.

Lord, a Trump supporter, wrote in his article, published in the right-wing American Spectator, that “[t]here is no connection whatsoever — zero — between the definition of ‘smart’ and the concepts of good, bad, or indifferent, much less any tie between ‘smart’ and ‘evil.’”

‘Hardly Dumb’

Lord continued: “What is particularly astonishing here with [the Trump criticisms] is, as mentioned, the utter lack of knowledge about the truly evil figures in world history — and, specifically, that these people were hardly dumb.”

Trump ‘No Fool’

Editorial credit: Drop of Light / Shutterstock.

Lord argued in his piece that the realization that leaders and heads of organizations were intrinsically smart or they wouldn’t have gotten to where they are “is itself smart.”

He wrote: “Trump is no fool who is taken in by ignoring the reality of who these people really are.”

Democrats Slam Trump

Editorial credit: mark reinstein / Shutterstock.

The Democratic National Committee and President Biden’s election campaign hit out at Trump for sharing the article on his Hezbollah comments, saying on X, formerly Twitter, that he was “once again praising a terrorist organization.” Biden had previously slammed Trump’s remarks, saying he would be better off offering his support to Israel after an attack that’s been called the country’s 9/11, referencing the September 11, 2001, attacks on the US using hijacked aircraft.

Republican Condemnation

Image Credit: Gino Santa Maria / Shutterstock.

Republicans had been aghast at Trump’s initial remarks about Hezbollah, given that he’s their leading primary candidate for next year’s presidential election. Trump is far ahead of his Republican rivals seeking the nomination, by a margin of about 50 points. His vice president during his time in office, Mike Pence, had been running for the nomination too but ended his campaign after failing to gain traction, saying he has “no regrets.”

2024 Race for the White House

If Trump becomes the Republican nominee, he will likely run against President Biden, who is also the clear favorite for the Democratic nomination. Should the Israel-Hamas war drag on or widen into a broader conflict, it will almost certainly be one of the main international campaign issues, along with the ongoing war in Ukraine.

Israeli Operation in ‘Second Stage’

Image Credit Alexandros Michailidis / Shutterstock.

Addressing the nation last Saturday night, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the military’s operation to crush Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, had entered a “second stage” after Israeli tanks rolled into parts of the Palestinian territory. The new phase would include using air and sea forces as well as soldiers on the ground, he said.

Gaza War ‘Long and Difficult’

Netanyahu said its battle with Hamas would be “long and difficult” but that Israel would triumph.

“There are moments in which a nation faces two possibilities: to do or die. We now face that test and I have no doubt how it will end: We will be the victors. We will do and we will be the victors.”

‘Destroy Hamas’

The Israeli leader continued: “Our heroic soldiers have one supreme goal: to destroy the murderous enemy and ensure our existence in our land. We have always said, ‘Never again.’ ‘Never again’ is now.”