Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie announced Thursday that he will travel to Israel this weekend, becoming the first GOP presidential candidate to visit the Jewish state since the October 7 Hamas terrorist attack.
Christie, 61, said at a town hall in Merrimack, NH, he will meet with Israeli government officials, Israel Defense Forces soldiers and families of Hamas kidnapping victims during the trip.
The former New Jersey governor is also scheduled to visit the southern part of the country, near the Gaza border, according to CNN.
Former Republican presidential candidate New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, pictured here at Wednesday’s Republican presidential primary debate, said he will travel to Israel this weekend. AP
“Tomorrow night I’m going to Israel because I want to see it for myself,” said Christie. “Because I don’t think you can try to be the president of the United States and be afraid to go and see what’s happening on the ground. If I’m going to continue to be a strong advocate for doing everything we need to do to defend Israel, I have to see for myself.”
“And if you really want to lead, you have to go and show the people of Israel that a person running for president of the United States cares enough to get on a plane and go there and do what needs to be done to find out how we solve this problem ,” he added.
Christie lashed out at Israel’s intelligence community during the third GOP primary debate on Wednesday, arguing that it had “failed” its citizens for being shocked by Hamas’ unprecedented raid on the country, which left more than 1,400 dead and left hundreds, including US citizens, kidnapped and held hostage in the Gaza Strip.
Smoke billows from fires in Gaza as Israel continues its bombing and ground attacks on Nov. 8. 2023. Getty Images A general view of the destruction after a deadly attack on a police station in the city of Sderot is shown on Nov. 8, 2023 ZUMAPRESS.com
“The fact is that Israel and their intelligence community failed,” Christie said during the debate in Miami. “They failed here, and they failed the people of Israel.”
Christie is no stranger to war zones.
In August, the GOP candidate made an unannounced visit to Ukraine, meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky and laying flowers at a mass grave in Bucha, where Ukrainians claim that Russian soldiers committed atrocities against civilians.
Christie is fifth among GOP White House candidates, at 2.6%, according to the RealClearPolitics average of national polls — more than 55 percentage points behind former President Donald Trump.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
