Former Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey doesn’t mince words when it comes to former President Donald Trump, and in a new ad that was released by a super PAC affiliated with his campaign earlier this week, Christie continued to pull no punches.
The 60-second spot, which was produced by the Tell It Like It Is super PAC, was titled bluntly “Fool,” and it was a response to Trump’s calling the anti-Israeli terrorist group Hezbollah “very smart” during a speech last Wednesday in Florida.
The clip features Christie’s response to CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, in which the former governor repeatedly described Trump as a “fool.”
“He’s a fool. Only a fool would make those kinds of comments,” Christie said to CNN. “Only a fool would give comments that could give aid and comfort to Israel’s adversary in this situation.
“But he cares about one person, one person only: the person he sees in the mirror when he wakes up in the morning. We cannot once again nominate a fool like this and get him anywhere near the presidency of the United States. And having a fool like Donald Trump, who would make those comments in the tone that he made them is proven to folks that he has no business being president of the United States.”
GOP Hopefuls Could See an Opening Against Donald Trump
Christie was hardly the only GOP presidential hopeful to fire back at Trump for his comments about Hezbollah. Former Vice President Mike Pence and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis each quickly responded to Trump’s comments.
“Hezbollah aren’t smart, they’re evil,” Pence said in an interview with WGIR radio in New Hampshire last Thursday, adding, “This is no time for the former president, or any other American leader to be sending any message other than America stands with Israel. And look, I know the former president was frustrated with [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu; he’s been critical over the last two years … I consider him a friend, and I’m proud of the relationship that America had under our administration with Israel.”
DeSantis also addressed Trump’s comments, and said in a post on X, the social media platform 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.'”
Trump Campaign Walked Back “Smart” Comment
Since Trump made the comment, his campaign has attempted to walk back the remarks, stating that just because the former president called Hezbollah “smart” does not mean he was praising the group. It also responded directly to DeSantis.
“President Trump was clearly pointing out how incompetent Biden and his administration were by telegraphing to the terrorists an area that is susceptible to an attack. Smart does not equal good. It just proves Biden is stupid. And now you look stupid, Ron.” the Trump campaign’s War Room” account said in a post to X.
Yet, this is far from the first time Trump has made such questionable comments.
He infamously said in 2017 that there were “very fine people on both sides” following clashes at a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, and in defending his statement declared that Confederate leader Robert E. Lee was “a great general.”
Author Experience and Expertise
A Senior Editor for 19FortyFive, Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer. He has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers, and websites with over 3,200 published pieces over a twenty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu.
