With the second GOP debate only two weeks away, Donald Trump may need to do some cramming on foreign policy to catch up to his peers.
Trump admitted in a Thursday interview with radio host Hugh Hewitt that he does not know some of the nuts and bolts issues on the world stage, particularly the names of terror leaders and other players in the Middle East. He also didn’t know the difference between Hamas and Hezbollah.
From the outset, Hewitt, who is set to ask questions at the debate on Sept. 16, quizzed the GOP front-runner on a series of issues pertaining to the Middle East. He asked if Trump knew about Gen. Qasem Soleimani, a major general in the Iranian Army.
“Yes,” Trump said with some doubt in his voice. “Go ahead, give me a little — go ahead, tell me.”
When Hewitt explained that Soleimani is the head of the Quds Force, which he likened to the U.S. Navy SEALs, Trump began talking about the Kurdish forces in Turkey.
“I think the Kurds, by the way, have been horribly mistreated by us…” Trump said before Hewitt corrected him. The real estate mogul explained that he heard the name wrong.
“Is he the gentleman that was going back and forth with Russia and meeting with [Vladimir] Putin? I read something — that seems to be, also, where he’s at. He’s going back and forth meeting with other countries, etc. etc.,” Trump asked. Hewitt responded affirmatively.
“Not good. Not good for us,” Trump said. “And what it shows is a total lack of respect, I mean that the other countries would even be entertaining him, and they’re entertaining him big league. Big league.”
Hewitt went on to ask Trump if he knew the “players” in the Middle East “without a scorecard” after rattling off four high-level players from the region such as Hassan Nasrallah, secretary general of Hezbollah, and Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of the Islamic State.
“No,” Trump responded. “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. I knew you were going to ask me things like this and there’s no reason because, 1.) I will hopefully find Gen. Douglas McArthur in the pack. I will find whoever it is that I’ll find and … but they’re all changing.”
“Those are like history questions. ‘Do you know this one, do you know that one,'” Trump said. “As far as the individual players, of course I don’t know them. I’ve never met them. I haven’t been in a position to meet them. If they’re still there, which is unlikely in many cases — but if they’re still there, I will know them better than I know you.”
Trump went on to tell the host that he was asking “gotcha questions” about the Middle Eastern leaders, adding that by the time he becomes commander in chief, “I will be so good at the military, your head will spin.”
Near the end of the 20-minute segment, Hewitt told Trump that he disagreed with the assertion that he was asking “gotcha” questions. The host said that at the debate on Sept. 16, he may ask the candidates about the leaders of Hezbollah, al-Nusra and Hamas. Does Trump think those are gotcha questions?
“Yes, I do. I totally do,” Trump said to a mystified Hewitt. “I think it’s ridiculous. I’m a delegator. I find great people. I find absolutely great people and I’ll find them in our armed services, and I find absolutely great people.”
“When you start throwing around names of people and where they live and, you know, give me their address — I think it’s ridiculous,” Trump said. “By the way, the names you just mentioned, they probably won’t even be there in six months or a year … First day in office, or before then — the day after the election, I’ll know more about it than you will ever know. I can tell you that.”
“Last question: So the difference between Hezbollah and Hamas does not matter to you yet, but it will?” Hewitt asked.
“It will when it’s appropriate. I will know more about it than you know and believe me, it won’t take me long,” Trump said. “And if you ask any of these candidates, nobody’s going to be able to give you an answer. I mean, there may be one that’s studied it because they’re expecting a fresh question from you. But believe me, it won’t matter. I will know far more than you know within 24 hours after I get the job.”
This isn’t the first time a 2016 Republican presidential candidate has struggled with foreign policy details on Hewitt’s show. Back in May, Ben Carson made repeated missteps in an interview with Hewitt, which led to the host asking the famed neurosurgeon if he “read this stuff?”
