As the Israel-Hamas war continues into its second month, politicians are using it to make headlines.
According to the Washington Examiner, failing Republican presidential candidate and former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is set to visit Israel over the weekend, making him the first Republican candidate to do so.
An itinerary obtained by CNN revealed that Christie will visit with various Israeli leaders and will also make a stop in the Gaza envelope region of southern Israel.
Christie, who's struggling in the polls -- to say the least -- and is running purely on an attack-Donald Trump platform, released a statement regarding his trip on X, formerly known as Twitter.
"Tomorrow night, I'm leaving to go to Israel because I want to see for myself. I'll be meeting with Israeli officials and with survivors of the Hamas terrorist attack. If you want to be president, you can't be afraid to go and see what's happening on the ground around the world," Christie wrote.
Tomorrow night, I'm leaving to go to Israel because I want to see for myself. I'll be meeting with Israeli officials and with survivors of the Hamas terrorist attack.
If you want to be president, you can't be afraid to go and see what's happening on the ground around the world. pic.twitter.com/l9PVaspIHv
— Chris Christie (@GovChristie) November 10, 2023
Christie focused on the Israel-Hamas situation during the third GOP presidential primary debate, which received little to no fanfare aside from the few times some of the candidates called each other names.
Notably, Christie hammered Israeli intelligence services for missing signs of the deadly attack -- one of the deadliest in the nation's history.
"The fact is that Israel and their intelligence community failed. They failed here, and they failed the people of the state of Israel," Christie said.
Chris Christie Announces Plan to Visit Israel Amid Ongoing War
Chris Christie says he wishes to 'see for himself' the situation in Israel following Hamas's Oct. 7 terror attack.https://t.co/nKrcIuoCpL
— The Epoch Times (@EpochTimes) November 10, 2023
Social media users ripped Christie after the announcement.
"Of course Chris Christie is going to "visit" Israel, he's corrupt, may as well load up warmongers DeSantis and Haley too, so they can get that donor money they cherish, more than their own country," one X user wrote.
Others called him out for what's obviously a photo op situation.
"‘Photo Ops’ do not help Israel, & it will not help Chris Christie’s efforts. Christie needs to find something useful to do with his life. This isn’t it. He has no ‘sway,'" one X user wrote.
