The war between Israel and Hamas is testing the Republican Party’s isolationist shift
FILE - Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley speaks with reporters after signing papers to get on the Republican presidential primary ballot at the New Hampshire Statehouse, Friday, Oct. 13, 2023, in Concord, N.H. The Republican Partyâs White House hopefuls are offering conflicting messages on the growing foreign policy challenges. A presidential election that has long been centered on domestic kitchen-table issues is suddenly shifting its focus abroad with the Israel-Hamas war.
FILE - Republican Presidential candidate Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks during the Politics & Eggs program at Saint Anselm College, Friday, Oct. 13, 2023, in Manchester, N.H. The Republican Partyâs White House hopefuls are offering conflicting messages on the growing foreign policy challenges. A presidential election that has long been centered on domestic kitchen-table issues is suddenly shifting its focus abroad with the Israel-Hamas war.
FILE - Former President Donald Trump addresses an audience during a campaign event, Monday, Oct. 9, 2023, in Wolfeboro, N.H. The Republican Partyâs White House hopefuls are offering conflicting messages on the growing foreign policy challenges. A presidential election that has long been centered on domestic kitchen-table issues is suddenly shifting its focus abroad with the Israel-Hamas war.
FILE - Republican presidential candidate and former Vice President Mike Pence speaks during the New Hampshire Republican Party's First In The Nation Leadership Summit Saturday, Oct 14, 2023, in Nashua, N.H. The Republican Partyâs White House hopefuls are offering conflicting messages on the growing foreign policy challenges. A presidential election that has long been centered on domestic kitchen-table issues is suddenly shifting its focus abroad with the Israel-Hamas war.
ROCHESTER, N.H. (AP) â Nikki Haley vowed to stand with Israel âevery step of the way.â She promised to âdecimateâ the Iranian economy. And she called for continued funding for Ukraine as it fights to repel the Russian invasion.
âItâs a dangerous world right now,â Haley told Republican primary voters gathered inside New Hampshireâs American Legion Post No. 7 as a new war raged in the Middle East. âAnd this is gonna get messier before it gets better.â
Less than 24 hours later, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis told New Hampshire business leaders that the United States should stop funding Ukraine until there is a clear strategy. He was more focused on what he saw as a threat posed by foreign nationals at the U.S.-Mexico border. And Israel, he said, has a right to defend itself.
âI donât think thereâs going to be a lot we even need to do militarily,â DeSantis said of the war between Israel with Hamas. âWe may have to provide some additional support like weâve traditionally done, but I think mostly itâs just the moral clarity to say, âThey donât have to live like this.'â
The Republican Partyâs White House hopefuls are offering conflicting messages on the mounting foreign policy challenges as a presidential election long centered on domestic kitchen-table issues suddenly shifts its focus abroad. The rapidly evolving dynamics are testing the limits of the GOPâs drift toward an isolationist foreign policy and threaten to undermine the partyâs broader argument that Democratic President Joe Biden has mismanaged U.S. relationships with the rest of the world.
Republican primary voters across New Hampshire who pelted Republican presidential candidates with foreign policy questions this past week are hungry for better answers.
âThis God-awful international situation is calling for a rational voice. That chair sits empty right now,â said Tom Rath, a former New Hampshire attorney general who attended DeSantisâ Friday appearance at St. Anselm College, where the first three questions focused on foreign policy.
The war is a stark reminder of how the GOP has shifted away from more traditional Republicans such as Rath over the past two decades. Former President George W. Bush, whose administration was defined in large part by its failures in the Iraq War, recently described himself as âkind of a hard-liner.â In video obtained by Axios, he said the Biden administrationâs response to the Israel-Hamas conflict has âstarted off on the right foot.â
But under former President Donald Trumpâs leadership, the GOP has moved sharply away from its long-standing support for a muscular foreign policy. In last fallâs midterm elections, for example, 56% of voters for Republican candidates said the U.S. should take a less active role in world affairs, according to AP VoteCast.
Haley, who was Trumpâs ambassador to the United Nations, has emerged as the representative for the GOPâs old guard, calling for the âthe endâ of Hamas and an aggressive response to Israelâs enemies, including Iran. On the other side among her 2024 rivals, DeSantis and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, backed by conservative media personality Tucker Carlson, favor a more cautious âAmerica Firstâ approach.
Trump, the front-runner in the Republican primary, has confused the issue with an inconsistent message fueled by personal grievance.
In a rambling speech last week, Trump said Israelâs prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, âlet us downâ just before the U.S. killed a top Iranian general, Qassem Soleimani, in 2020. Trump also said Israeli leaders needed to âstep up their gameâ and he referred to Hezbollah, which Israel fears may launch a large-scale attack from the countryâs north, as âvery smart.â In an interview that aired Thursday, Trump said Netanyahu âwas not preparedâ for the Hamas incursion from Gaza.
On Sunday, Trump ally Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said Trump should not have criticized the Israeli foreign minister at this moment.
âThat was a huge mistake,â Graham said on NBCâs âMeet the Press.â âIf I were President Trump Iâd talk about being the strongest president for Israel in modern times.â
Trumpâs team finished the week in damage control mode, sending out statements that highlighted his past support for Israel. Trump himself joined the effort as he insisted the attack never would have happened had he won the 2020 election and he praised Israeli soldiers.
âI have always been impressed by the skill and determination of the Israeli Defence Forces. As they defend their Nation against ruthless terrorists, I want to wish every soldier the best of luck. May you return home safely to your families, and may God bless you all!â Trump wrote on his Truth Social network.
Meanwhile, some Republican primary voters donât like what theyâre hearing from their partyâs presidential hopefuls.
âNow, more than ever, is when I feel like we need a strong leader in the White House. Biden ainât it. Trump ainât it,â said Michele Woonton, a 58-year-old retired nurse who attended a DeSantis appearance at the New Hampshire Statehouse this past week.
Woonton, who said she would consider voting for independent candidate Robert Kennedy Jr. if Trump wins the Republican nomination, was particularly upset about Trumpâs initial reaction to the attack on Israel.
âWe donât need somebody who canât control his emotions,â Woonton said. âIâm not saying he wasnât a good president. But heâs too immature. ⊠This is not the kind of kind of leader we need in a time of war.â
Bruce Wilson, a 76-year-old Army veteran from Alton, said he wants to see the Republican Party get back to its roots with a stronger approach to foreign affairs. He lamented the influence of Trumpâs âMake America Great Againâ movement on multiple issues.
âThe party got in bed (with Trump) and now theyâre living with the consequences,â said Wilson, who attended Haleyâs town hall meeting at the American Legion. âIâd like to see a leader with more conviction.â
The next day at St. Anselm College, Dave Lundgren, a Republican state representative who has endorsed DeSantis, said heâs also worried about the GOPâs drift toward isolationism.
âI think we need to go in and spank somebody,â he said of the U.S. response to Hamasâ attack on Israel, suggesting that U.S. special forces get involved, at least to help rescue kidnapped Americans. âRepublicans are weak right now and we need a strong leader that is going to put us back to No. 1 in the world. Weâve been there before. Weâre not there now.â
Associated Press writer Jill Colvin in New York and AP polling director Emily Swanson in Washington contributed to this report.