Posted on 09/03/2015 10:03:40 PM PDT by Steelfish
Donald Trump: I Will Know The Difference Between Hamas And Hezbollah 'When It's Appropriate'
4 September Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump did not take kindly in a radio interview on Thursday to being asked to identify the affiliations of various militant leaders in the Middle East, saying the host was asking “a gotcha question”.
Discussing Islamist extremism, conservative talk-radio host Hugh Hewitt told Trump he was looking for the next president to identify the leaders of major militant groups, naming the heads of Islamic State, Hezbollah, al-Qaida and its Nusra Front wing in Syria.
“Do you know the players without a scorecard yet, Donald Trump?” asked Hewitt, who will co-moderate the next official Republican presidential debate on 16 September in California.
“No, you know, I’ll tell you honestly, I think by the time we get to office, they’ll all be changed. They’ll be all gone,” Trump replied.
“The names you just mentioned, they probably won’t even be there in six months or a year,” he added.
Hassan Nasrallah has headed Hezbollah since 1992.
Hewitt pushed Trump on the question, asking him: “So the difference between Hezbollah and Hamas does not matter to you yet, but it will?”
Trump replied: “It will when it’s appropriate. I will know more about it than you know, and believe me, it won’t take me long.”
The billionaire real estate mogul has risen to the top of the polls in a crowded Republican field more than a year before the November 2016 election.
When Hewitt said these were not meant as “gotcha” questions, Trump responded: “Well, it sounded like gotcha. You’re asking me names that, I think it’s somewhat ridiculous, but that’s OK. Go ahead, let’s go.”
(Excerpt) Read more at theguardian.com ...
Easy, it’s the Mohamed, stupid!
My son is a former 1/8 Beirut Marine and I always get Hamas and Hezbollah mixed up. The only difference between terrorist groups is location. So if Trump wants to remember who everyone is he’ll have to associate with real estate. Location, location, location!
I was curious in the beginning about his foreign policy but the easy way to judge is one’s support for Israel or one’s support for her enemies.
Maybe, instead of the traditional debate format, Hewitt should just bring Trivial Pursuit, and all the candidates join in on playing it.
Followed by a round of Twister
At the debate, maybe Hewitt can find out how well each candidate knows the official nickname and official state flower for all 50 states. Wouldn’t want a president who didn’t know by heart the names of all the lieutenant governors, too
I do not worry—He will have the best minds to tell who from who. He can’t have all that on the tip of his fingers. Its like asking FDR the names of all the leading Nazi Generals or JFK all the Top Russians -—No one could know them all—or even pronounce them.
many fine conservatives have already left the GOP and do not give a rats ass who they run. Trump is what has brought many back because he has not been part of the party.
Lessee, here ...
The difference is:
One of 'em hates Jews and wants to destroy Israel ... The other one wants to destroy Israel and hates Jews.
They're similar in that they both hate Christians.
"My son is a former 1/8 Beirut Marine and I always get Hamas and Hezbollah mixed up. The only difference between terrorist groups is location. So if Trump wants to remember who everyone is he’ll have to associate with real estate. Location, location, location!"
Nice tie-in ...
Vasquez: Look, man. I only need to know one thing: where they are.
Hudson: Right, right. Somebody said "alien" she thought they said "illegal alien" and signed up!
And they all look like targets.
Thank you for your civil and thoughtful reply.
I agree that many of the current candidates would not have known the names of the leaders of all of the groups, etc. Hewitt had Fiorina on later and asked the same questions and she did fairly well, better than Trump. But what I liked about her answer was her willingness to admit where her knowledge was lacking, when she wasn’t sure about a piece of information. And even though she might not have know the names of the obscure players, she knew the major players and had a clear understanding of the intents of the radical Islamists and the challenges we face in the region.
That does not mean I am in the Carly camp. My first choice is Ted. And just knowing about the issues in the Middle East does not make one the preferred candidate - I am sure Graham knows all the players, and I would not vote for him for many other reasons. But asking a candidate questions to determine what they know about the subject should not be considered a “gotcha” question. If he was asked who the leader of Micronesia was, for example, THAT would be a “gotcha” question. :-)
To answer your question, no, I am not surprised that so many people have flocked to Trump’s straight-talking, anti illegal rhetoric. After all of the lies we have been told by the GOPe, I certainly understand the attraction of someone who says what we want to hear in a direct and unapologetic way.
But I am surprised that so many conservatives are willingly ignoring or explaining away things he has said or done that would eliminate other candidates from consideration - and even attack other conservatives that bring those things up as “trolls”. That concerns me more than anything else. I understand the people that acknowledge his past, but choose to support him anyway. I don’t understand those who want to act as though his past has no relevance to how he might act as president, and attack anyone who dares the suggest it might.
Please take a nap FRiend!
OK just did.. still bushy and mad as hell...
pull my trigger.. listen for the BANG..
CDS has been afflicting the GOP-E longer than TDS.
Very true.. so much so that they KNOW America hates their GUTs..
Soo they come against D.Trump SO THAT it will GET Trump many VOTES.. by conservatives.. IT WORKED...
And some conservatives skip along like little red riding hood.. As..Trumpsters..
Other liberals do the same.... YOU KNOW...
OR DO YOU?...
I take it if Hillary or Biden made the same colossal blunder you would be defending them?
I love how you suspend thinking for yourself and just take everything your "the one," says. It's like 2008 all over again, and you are an Obama supporter.
And yet, who do his drones constantly compare Our Churchill to?
Three guesses and the first two don't count.
There is no objective truth? Isn’t that what liberal’s believe?
You guys seem to think the President sits in the oval office, dreams this stuff up and then emails it to the Supreme Court to be turned into law...
Presidents have a large cadre of lawyers, politicians, military at their disposal who scrutinize all aspects of any idea the President comes up with...
You can bet that before Trump bus a building or starts a project, he consults with an army of engineers...Would be the same in the oval office...There's no other way around it...
So who do you think has the best personality to be our next President???
Plus, use the profits from their oil to pay for the war...Makes perfect sense to me...
Boco Harem...So what??? What's in a name??? They are all affiliated with the Muzlim Brotherhood...And none of them are the good guys...
You do not have to trash Trump supporters to support Cruz. Cruz gets that, you apparently do not. I suspect that if Trump were not in, Jeb and Rubio would still be around 20% as they were at that time and Cruz would still be in the same 5%-10% range he is now and was at that time. Before Trump got in, nobody was calling out Jeb and Rubio like Trump has been doing. Looking at the polls from before Trump got in, it appears that Bush and Rubio have taken the worst hits in numbers since Trump announced. I fail to see the downside to that. I like Trump better than I like Jeb or Rubio. Maybe you can explain to me how Jeb and Rubio losing substantial numbers is a bad thing?
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