Trump blames Biden-Harris administration for Hezbollah attack on Israel

Former President Donald Trump condemned the Saturday attack on Israel that left a dozen children and teenagers dead, blaming “a weak and ineffective United States president and vice president.”

Trump opened his remarks at a campaign rally in St. Cloud, Minnesota, with condolences to the families of the victims of the attack. Israeli officials blamed Hezbollah, a Lebanese-based, Iranian-backed militant group, which denied responsibility.

“Our hearts go out to the families of these innocent children,” Trump said. “No parent should have to suffer the terrible loss of a child at the hands of terrorists or anybody else. Today’s attack on Israel cannot be forgotten.”

The Republican presidential nominee quickly shifted to campaign mode, blaming the man who replaced him in the White House and the woman hoping to prevent him from returning.

Hezbollah “wouldn’t have done this if I were the president,” Trump said. “They wouldn’t have done that, and they didn’t. With time, the situation will only get worse for our country with the kind of leadership that we have right now, which is no leadership. It’s probably worse than no leadership. It’s negative.”

Trump also moved into attacks on Harris, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, who was dubbed the “border czar” as vice president. He called her “terrible” and “worse than [Biden] is.”

“It’s a dangerous and terrible time for the world, and it’s almost the entire fault of the Biden-Harris administration,” Trump said.

During his meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday, Trump called Harris “disrespectful to Israel.” Netanyahu, who met with all of the aforementioned U.S. politicians this week, said in a statement that Hezbollah “will pay a heavy price” for the attack.

A poll released Saturday indicates that Harris is polling better against Trump than Biden was. With just over three months until the election, the vice president and the former president are within 1 percentage point of each other in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania, all of which have been indicative of which candidate wins the electoral vote in recent cycles.