Nikki Haley swipes at Trump as GOP candidates tout staunch support for Israel
GOP presidential candidates touted their staunch support for Israel at the Republican Jewish Coalition’s summit — and sought to peel support from Donald Trump.
LAS VEGAS — Republican presidential candidates delivered speeches touting their staunch support for Israel at the annual Republican Jewish Coalition’s summit Saturday — and sought to peel support away from former President Donald Trump, the front-runner, who recently faced backlash for criticizing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and calling Hezbollah, the Lebanese militant group, “very smart.”
“America needs a captain who will steady the ship, not capsize it, and Republicans need a candidate who can actually win,” former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley said in her remarks, pointedly criticizing Trump, who has drawn strong support from Orthodox Jews, according to a poll this year by the Jewish Electoral Institute.
“I will not criticize Israel’s prime minister in the middle of a tragedy and war,” Haley added as Israel expanded its ground offensive in Gaza, with Netanyahu warning of a long and difficult war after Hamas’ attack on Oct. 7. More than 7,000 people, including women and children, have died in Gaza, according to Palestinian health officials. In Israel, about 1,400 people have died.
At the gathering of Jewish conservatives in Las Vegas, Vivek Ramaswamy expressed support for Israel’s right to dismiss the “myth” of a two-state solution, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis referred to the West Bank as “the most ancient Jewish land going back to biblical times,” and Sen. Tim Scott of Florida reiterated his calls to deport foreign students participating in “antisemitic” protests on college campuses.
The efforts by Haley and her fellow 2024 contenders were overshadowed in the room by former Vice President Mike Pence, Trump’s former running mate, who unexpectedly announced that he is suspending his campaign.
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