Candidates clamor to be seen as closest to Israel in GOP debate
Republican presidential candidates competed with one another to show the most support for Israel, draw the hardest line on Iran and speak out the most aggressively about antisemitism at Wednesday's GOP presidential debate, while downplaying what Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis called “so-called Islamophobia.”
All five candidates at the NBC News debate in Miami said they fully supported Israel’s military campaign against Hamas and would not do anything to rein in its bombing of Gaza, which has led to a worsening humanitarian crisis for Palestinian civilians.
“I would tell Bibi, finish the job once and for all with these butchers,” DeSantis said, referring to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by his nickname.
“Finish them. Finish them,” former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley said of Hamas. “Support Israel with whatever they need, whenever they need it. ... The last thing we need to do is tell Israel what to do.”
“Wipe Hamas off the map,” said South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott. “Diplomacy only is a weak strategy. ... You cannot negotiate with evil. You have to destroy it.”
“America is here, no matter what it is you need,” former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said he would tell Netanyahu.
“I would go one step further. I would tell Bibi that Israel has the right and responsibility to protect itself,” said businessman Vivek Ramaswamy.
Follow live coverage of the Israel-Hamas war here.
None of the candidates spoke about the plight of Palestinian civilians caught in the war between Israel and Hamas. Nor did any rule out putting U.S. troops on the ground in the Middle East if the conflict escalates.
DeSantis criticized the media and others for “complaining” when “Israel is simply trying to defend themselves,” a reference to coverage of the thousands killed and injured in Israeli bombings in Gaza.
Ramaswamy was the only candidate to stake out a somewhat heterodox position on Israel, saying he wants to eventually taper off U.S. support for the nation. But he did not take the opportunity to detail that proposal, instead using a question on Israel to swipe at Haley and DeSantis for, he claimed, wearing high heels on stage.
In the latest NBC News/Des Moines Register/Mediacom poll, 57% of likely Iowa GOP caucusgoers said the Israel-Hamas war is “extremely important” to them as they evaluate candidates.
The candidates also issued stark warnings to Iran, amid fears of the conflict spiraling into a larger regional war. Iran has supported anti-Israel militant movements in the region.
DeSantis, who served in Iraq as a Navy lawyer, said that if the U.S. puts troops on the ground, it must be prepared to “defend them with everything we’ve got.”
“I would say, if you harm one hair on the head of an American servicemember, you will have hell to pay,” he said.
Haley criticized President Joe Biden for “tit for tat” responses to Iran-backed militant groups that have fired rockets and launched drones against U.S. troops based in Syria and elsewhere in the region, saying she would favor a more robust response to groups like Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen.
“We should be going in and taking out their infrastructure so they never do it again,” Haley said.
On the home front, all the candidates said they would be more aggressive in combating antisemitism.
Several candidates vowed to deport foreign students who espouse views they see as pro-Hamas. And they threatened to cut any federal funding to universities that they said are tolerating antisemitism.
“Let me just say to every single university president in America, federal funding is a privilege not a right,” Scott said. “To all the students on visas who are encouraging Jewish genocide, I would deport you."
DeSantis bragged about eliminating a pro-Palestinian student group on the campus of a Florida state university. And he criticized Biden for trying to tamp down on “so-called Islamophobia,” suggesting harassment of Muslims is not a real issue.
Ramaswamy, again, broke away from the field on this question, accusing his opponents of being “pro-censorship” for wanting to disband student groups and deport students over their political beliefs.
“We don’t quash this with censorship, because that creates a worse underbelly. We quell it through leadership by calling it out,” Ramaswamy said.
The only candidate who addressed the issue of Islamophobia was Christie, who served as a U.S. attorney in New Jersey in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
“I personally went from mosque to mosque in New Jersey and met with the leaders of those mosques and their members. ... And we developed fabulous relationships with Muslim Americans,” Christie said. “You must work with both sides.”
