Haley, Ramaswamy Spar Over America's Relationship with Israel

Two Republican primary candidates — former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy — continue to spar over the issue of American aid to Israel after a heated exchange in last week’s GOP debate.

For Context: America is currently in the middle of a 10-year, $38 billion military aid commitment with Israel, set to end in 2028. 

Details: Ramaswamy labels his foreign policy stance as “America First 2.0.” Part of that stance is a reevaluation of America's relationship with Israel. At the debate last week, Haley stated that Ramaswamy wants to “stop funding Israel,” adding, “You have no foreign policy experience and it shows.” Ramaswamy refuted this, stating, “Our relationship with Israel will never be stronger than by the end of my first term.” The feud continued after debate night, with a social media post from Haley reading, “Israel faces genocidal threats from Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran, & Syria. Our next president must understand that. Vivek said we should abandon Israel after 2028. Those are HIS words.” Ramaswamy’s campaign pushed back on this, stating that a Ramaswamy Administration would work to “fully integrate Israel into the Middle East economy” and that aid would not be cut “until Israel tells the U.S. that it no longer needs the aid.”

How the Media Covered It: The continued dispute is being covered moderately across the spectrum. The Jerusalem Post (Center bias) noted how aid to Israel is becoming a disputed topic “after decades of being a political third rail.”