Foreign policy is front and center of the conversation as Republican presidential candidates campaign for votes in Iowa’s Caucuses. During weekend events, though, candidates offered a variety of responses to what’s happened in Israel, in Gaza and in the United States.
Former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley served as President Trump’s ambassador to the United Nations. She said Hamas committed “flat out torture” of Israelis in the October 7 attacks and President Biden should be wary of both Iran and Qatar, even though Qatar helped negotiate the release of two American hostages.
“They will do this to try and get you to back off. They are doing this to keep Israel from going into Gaza…Support Israel. Whatever they want, whatever they need — we need to be there for them,” Haley said to applause from the crowd at a fundraiser for Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said President Biden should be blocking humanitarian assistance to Palestinians in Gaza, because it will wind up in the hands of Hamas. “You see students demonstrating in our ow country in favor of Hamas terrorists. Some of them are foreigners on student visas, When I’m president (and) you’re making common cause with Hamas, I am cancelling your visa and I am sending you home,” DeSantis said, to applause at the Friday night event for Miller-Meeks.
South Carolina Senator Tim Scott, one of seven presidential candidates to appear at the fundraiser, said there should be consequences for American colleges and universities that allow anti-Semitic protests. “As president of the United States, I would sign the bill…that takes away the Pell Grants from any college or any university that says: ‘It’s o.k. to spread terrorism on our campuses…It’s o.k. to be anti-Jewish. I say, ‘No!'” Scott shouted as the crowd applauded.
Tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy told the crowd Israel needs to learn the lessons of the mistakes the U.S. made after the 9/11 attacks and the trillions Ramaswamy said was spent on “wasted wars” in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“I am deeply worried about the wisdom of this ongoing, potentially imminent ground invasion to Gaza which I do not believe is going to be good for Israel,” Ramaswamy said, “and do not believe it’s going to be good for the United States.”
Haley told reporters in Sheffield on Saturday that the U.S. has to see “the bigger picture” that Russia, China and Iran are forming an “unholy alliance” that endangers the American people.
“We should support Israel. We should eliminate Hamas,” Haley said. “…When they were dragging those bodies though the streets of Gaza, what were they saying? They were saying: ‘Death to Israel. Death to America.'”
North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson and Texas pastor Ryan Binkley also campaigned in the state this weekend.
(Bob Fisher, KGLO, Mason City contributed to this story.)