Haley sees foreign policy opening on Israel war as rivals seek to tear her down

Nikki Haley has made foreign policy an important part of her campaign as she tries to gain ground on former President Donald Trump and an advantage over the other second-tier candidates in the 2024 Republican primary.

But Israel‘s declaration of war against Hamas after its Oct. 7 terrorist attacks has created as many opportunities for her opponents to criticize her as it has for her to make her mark on the campaign.

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Haley, a former South Carolina governor and ambassador to the United Nations, has underscored her foreign policy credentials since announcing her campaign in February, particularly regarding China since she launched shortly after the Chinese spy balloon incident. Her campaign even circulated a weekly newsletter called “Comrade of the Week.”

After Hamas’s terrorist attacks, Haley was frequently on TV, talking about how Israel should “finish” Hamas and warning, “What happened to Israel could happen here in America.” But it was her comments last weekend in response to Gov. Ron DeSantis‘s (R-FL) claim Palestinians “are all antisemitic,” saying “you can separate civilians from terrorists,” that has drawn another dividing line in the primary.

Haley’s opponents are scrutinizing her because “she’s rising in the polls, they know she’s a threat, and they’re intimidated,” according to Republican strategist Cesar Conda.

“I don’t think Haley [is] ‘capitalizing’ on it, rather showing how she is the tough leader America needs as the world is in chaos,” the former aide to Vice President Dick Cheney and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) told the Washington Examiner.

Since the Republican primary’s first debate last August, Haley’s support in Iowa has increased from 4.6% to 9.5%, still 44 percentage points behind Trump and 8 points behind DeSantis, according to RealClearPolitics. In New Hampshire, her support has increased from 3.8% to 14.2%, 31 points behind Trump. Haley has $9.1 million cash on hand, compared to DeSantis’s $5 million.

DeSantis has repeatedly tied Haley’s Palestinian comments to his concerning Gaza Strip refugees, whom he contends should not be permitted into the U.S.

“Over the weekend, she was taking issue with what I said, saying that you can separate someone who’s Hamas in Gaza with somebody who’s more of a freedom lover,” he told Fox News. “So why would she be talking about that we can vet these people if she wasn’t saying that they should come to this country? We would have no role in vetting them unless you’re bringing them to this country. And so, she changed her tune.”

DeSantis-aligned super PAC, Never Back Down, also released a new TV ad this week and video on Wednesday criticizing Haley over her Palestinian comments, while her supporters simultaneously call the spot a “lie.”

“For all of Haley’s so-called foreign policy experience, how can she so easily lie about where she stands on such important issues?” Never Back Down said in a statement. “The answer is simple: it’s because Haley herself doesn’t know where she stands on this issue — or any issue — because she doesn’t have any real principles, only a political agenda.”

Biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy had earlier scrutinized Haley for reiterating Israel should “finish” Hamas, while Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) this week asserted the U.S. would not accept Gaza refugees on his “watch.”

“No refugees in from Gaza, period. I think that’s the right decision, not because I think they’re all antisemitic, but I can’t tell the difference,” he said. “There are other candidates — Nikki Haley has come to a different decision than Ron DeSantis. She believes that it’s permissible, it appears, to allow folks in. That’s a moderate part of the Republican Party.”

Haley’s campaign and her aligned super PAC have similarly described DeSantis as “desperate,” arguing she “has always opposed settling Middle East refugees in America, believing that Arab countries in the region should absorb them.”

“Nikki Haley was taking on Hamas, defunding the anti-Israel entity known as UNRWA, and standing up for Israel, while Ron DeSantis was a backbench congressman voting for debt increases and trying to ban fracking,” Haley campaign spokeswoman Nachama Soloveichik said. “It must be tough for DeSantis watching his poll numbers nosedive and realizing his campaign is running out of money, but that’s no excuse for lying about Nikki’s record.”

Her political action committee, Stand for America Inc., additionally unveiled a new ad emphasizing how, as ambassador, “she went toe-to-toe with dictators and anti-Israel haters at the U.N. every single day.”

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The Trump campaign, which itself has been undermined by the former president’s comments related to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, targeted DeSantis and not Haley.

“Ron DeSanctimonious has slipped to third place behind Birdbrain, so now he’s forced to attack her just to stop the bleeding,” Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung told the Washington Examiner. “It’s hilarious how he completely beclowned himself by running a dumpster fire campaign.”