Mon. Jul 8th, 2024

With Israel under attack, Pence decries GOP isolationism<!-- wp:html --><p>Former Vice President Mike Pence pointed to isolationism in the Republican Party as a culprit in the sweeping Hamas attack on Israel, decrying American “retreat on the world stage” as the GOP presidential field expressed solidarity with Israel.</p> <p>Pence’s comments represented the first ripple in the Republican primary from the violence that erupted on Saturday. While he did not mention former President Donald Trump or any other candidates by name, Pence’s remarks in Iowa effectively threw down a challenge to the rest of the Republican field.</p> <p>The role of the United States in maintaining global security is one of the most important points of friction between the Republican presidential candidates — one that could now erupt in a new way because of the violence in Israel.</p> <p>Faulting President Joe Biden for “projecting weakness on the world stage,” Pence also pointed an accusatory finger rightward at an event in Glenwood, near the Nebraska border.</p> <p>“This is also what happens when you have leaders in the Republican Party signaling retreat on the world stage,” Pence said.</p> <p>Several underdog candidates, including Pence and Nikki Haley, the former ambassador to the United Nations, have castigated factions on the right that want to pull back American involvement in overseas conflicts like the war in Ukraine.</p> <p>Those more isolationist constituencies have found vocal champions in Trump and other candidates like the biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, who has taken a dismissive view of Ukraine and other traditional American priorities like the security of Taiwan.</p> <p>Most Republican candidates, however, stuck to a narrow message on Saturday of support for Israel and criticism of the Biden administration. Trump, the dominant frontrunner in the race, spent part of the morning posting social-media messages on an entirely unrelated matter — his legal battle with New York Attorney General Tish James.</p> <p>There is a history of foreign security crises shaping American presidential primaries. In 2007, the assassination of Benazir Bhutto in Pakistan helped refocus the Republican nominating contest on security issues in a way that helped John McCain resurrect his candidacy. Four years ago, the killing of the Iranian military leader Qasem Soleimani by the Trump administration pushed Democratic candidates to address national security concerns in a campaign largely focused on domestic economic and cultural debates.</p> <p>On Saturday, Trump praised his previous administration's policies on Israel while bashing the current White House.</p> <p>“These Hamas attacks are a disgrace and Israel has every right to defend itself with overwhelming force,” Trump said in a statement released by his campaign. “Sadly, American taxpayer dollars helped fund these attacks, which many reports are saying came from the Biden Administration. We brought so much peace to the Middle East through the Abraham Accords, only to see Biden whittle it away at a far more rapid pace than anyone thought possible. Here we go again.”</p> <p>Haley said that Hamas had “declared war on Israel” on the 50th anniversary of the Yom Kippur War, calling the group a “bloodthirsty terrorist organization backed by Iran and determined to kill as many innocent lives as possible.”</p> <p>“The reports out of Israel are horrific with a stunning number of dead and wounded and should be universally condemned,” Haley said. “Israel has every right to defend its citizens from terror. We must always stand with Israel and against this Iranian regime.”</p> <p>Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis called for “a swift and lethal response” and said that “America must stand with Israel.”</p> <p>“The dastardly terrorist attacks perpetrated against innocent Israeli civilians by Iran-backed terror group Hamas deserve a swift and lethal response,” the GOP presidential candidate — and longtime ally to Israel — said in a <a href="https://twitter.com/GovRonDeSantis/status/1710637646987276767?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">social media post</a>, followed by a video of him speaking directly to camera.</p> <p>“Iran has helped fund this war against Israel and Joe Biden's policies that have gone easy on Iran has helped to fill their coffers,” DeSantis said in a <a href="https://twitter.com/RonDeSantis/status/1710653634826887674?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">video posted to social media</a>.</p> <p>South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott also blamed the Biden administration. “The truth is though, Joe Biden funded these attacks on Israel,” he said.</p> <p>“America's weakness is blood in the water for bad actors, but this is worse than that. We didn’t just invite this aggression, we paid for it. Iran is the biggest funder of Hamas. This is the Biden $6 billion ransom payment at work,” Scott <a href="https://twitter.com/votetimscott/status/1710650736562843936?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote in a post on X</a>, formerly known as Twitter.</p> <p>“This is what happens when [Biden] projects weakness on the world stage, kowtows to the mullahs in Iran with a $6 Billion ransom, and leaders in the Republican Party signal American retreat as Leader of the Free World,” former Vice President Mike Pence <a href="https://twitter.com/Mike_Pence/status/1710655315224531284?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote on social media</a>.</p> <p>“Every American should condemn the unprovoked and massive attack on Israel by terrorists in Hamas,” Pence <a href="https://twitter.com/Mike_Pence/status/1710646242093539606?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said in an earlier post</a>, calling Israel “our most cherished ally.”</p> <p>A spokesperson for Vivek Ramaswamy’s campaign, Tricia McLaughlin, issued a statement on his behalf.</p> <p>“We stand with Israel and are appalled by these attacks,” McLaughlin said. “Shooting civilians and kidnapping children are war crimes. Israel’s right to exist and defend itself must never be doubted. Hamas and Hezbollah terrorists cannot be allowed to prevail.”</p><!-- /wp:html -->

Former Vice President Mike Pence pointed to isolationism in the Republican Party as a culprit in the sweeping Hamas attack on Israel, decrying American “retreat on the world stage” as the GOP presidential field expressed solidarity with Israel.

Pence’s comments represented the first ripple in the Republican primary from the violence that erupted on Saturday. While he did not mention former President Donald Trump or any other candidates by name, Pence’s remarks in Iowa effectively threw down a challenge to the rest of the Republican field.

The role of the United States in maintaining global security is one of the most important points of friction between the Republican presidential candidates — one that could now erupt in a new way because of the violence in Israel.

Faulting President Joe Biden for “projecting weakness on the world stage,” Pence also pointed an accusatory finger rightward at an event in Glenwood, near the Nebraska border.

“This is also what happens when you have leaders in the Republican Party signaling retreat on the world stage,” Pence said.

Several underdog candidates, including Pence and Nikki Haley, the former ambassador to the United Nations, have castigated factions on the right that want to pull back American involvement in overseas conflicts like the war in Ukraine.

Those more isolationist constituencies have found vocal champions in Trump and other candidates like the biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, who has taken a dismissive view of Ukraine and other traditional American priorities like the security of Taiwan.

Most Republican candidates, however, stuck to a narrow message on Saturday of support for Israel and criticism of the Biden administration. Trump, the dominant frontrunner in the race, spent part of the morning posting social-media messages on an entirely unrelated matter — his legal battle with New York Attorney General Tish James.

There is a history of foreign security crises shaping American presidential primaries. In 2007, the assassination of Benazir Bhutto in Pakistan helped refocus the Republican nominating contest on security issues in a way that helped John McCain resurrect his candidacy. Four years ago, the killing of the Iranian military leader Qasem Soleimani by the Trump administration pushed Democratic candidates to address national security concerns in a campaign largely focused on domestic economic and cultural debates.

On Saturday, Trump praised his previous administration’s policies on Israel while bashing the current White House.

“These Hamas attacks are a disgrace and Israel has every right to defend itself with overwhelming force,” Trump said in a statement released by his campaign. “Sadly, American taxpayer dollars helped fund these attacks, which many reports are saying came from the Biden Administration. We brought so much peace to the Middle East through the Abraham Accords, only to see Biden whittle it away at a far more rapid pace than anyone thought possible. Here we go again.”

Haley said that Hamas had “declared war on Israel” on the 50th anniversary of the Yom Kippur War, calling the group a “bloodthirsty terrorist organization backed by Iran and determined to kill as many innocent lives as possible.”

“The reports out of Israel are horrific with a stunning number of dead and wounded and should be universally condemned,” Haley said. “Israel has every right to defend its citizens from terror. We must always stand with Israel and against this Iranian regime.”

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis called for “a swift and lethal response” and said that “America must stand with Israel.”

“The dastardly terrorist attacks perpetrated against innocent Israeli civilians by Iran-backed terror group Hamas deserve a swift and lethal response,” the GOP presidential candidate — and longtime ally to Israel — said in a social media post, followed by a video of him speaking directly to camera.

“Iran has helped fund this war against Israel and Joe Biden’s policies that have gone easy on Iran has helped to fill their coffers,” DeSantis said in a video posted to social media.

South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott also blamed the Biden administration. “The truth is though, Joe Biden funded these attacks on Israel,” he said.

“America’s weakness is blood in the water for bad actors, but this is worse than that. We didn’t just invite this aggression, we paid for it. Iran is the biggest funder of Hamas. This is the Biden $6 billion ransom payment at work,” Scott wrote in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.

“This is what happens when [Biden] projects weakness on the world stage, kowtows to the mullahs in Iran with a $6 Billion ransom, and leaders in the Republican Party signal American retreat as Leader of the Free World,” former Vice President Mike Pence wrote on social media.

“Every American should condemn the unprovoked and massive attack on Israel by terrorists in Hamas,” Pence said in an earlier post, calling Israel “our most cherished ally.”

A spokesperson for Vivek Ramaswamy’s campaign, Tricia McLaughlin, issued a statement on his behalf.

“We stand with Israel and are appalled by these attacks,” McLaughlin said. “Shooting civilians and kidnapping children are war crimes. Israel’s right to exist and defend itself must never be doubted. Hamas and Hezbollah terrorists cannot be allowed to prevail.”

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