2024-10-02 01:47:54
US vice presidential nominee Tim Walz on Tuesday (local time) stumbled on his first question and confused Israel and Iran when asked if he supported the Jewish nation launching a retaliatory strike on the Islamic Republic. His reaction came amid soaring tensions in the Middle East following Iran’s massive strikes on Israel.
Speaking at the ‘America Decides’ debate organised by CBS News in New York, Walz, the Minnesota Governor, did not respond directly to the question but said that Israel had a right to defend itself, citing the Hamas attack on the Jewish nation on October 7 last year. “Iran uhhh… Israel’s ability to defend itself is fundamental,” he said.
“The expansion of Israel and its proxies is an absolute fundamental necessity for the United States to have the steady leadership there,” he added, while mistakenly referring Israel to Iran, in the presence of his Republican opponent, JD Vance.
Walz questioned former president Donald Trump’s fitness for office and asserted that he was too unstable to be trusted to handle the crisis in the Middle East. However, Vance hit back and said Trump had made the world more secure during his term (2017-2021) in office.
