GOP’s presidential race roiled by foreign events
ROCHESTER, N.H. — The Republican Party’s White House hopefuls offer differing messages on the mounting foreign policy challenges as a presidential election long cen- tered on domestic kitchen-table issues suddenly shifts its focus abroad.
Republican primary voters across New Hampshire who pelted Republican presidential candidates with foreign policy questions this past week are hungry for answers.
“This God-awful international situation is calling for a rational voice. That chair sits empty right now,” said Tom Rath, a former New Hampshire attorney general who attended Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ Friday appearance at St. Anselm College, where the first three questions focused on foreign policy.
The war is a 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 the Iraq War, recently described himself as “kind of a hard-liner.” In video obtained by Axios, he said the Biden administration’s response to the Israel-Hamas conflict has “started off on the right foot.”
But under former President Donald Trump’s leadership, the GOP has moved sharply away from its long-standing support for a muscular foreign policy. In last fall’s 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.
Nikki Haley, who was Trump’s ambassador to the United Nations, has emerged as the representative for the GOP’s old guard, calling for “the end” of Hamas and an aggressive response to Israel’s 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, “America First” approach.
In a speech last week, Trump, the front-runner in the Republican primary, said Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, “let us down” just before the U.S. killed a top Iranian general, Qassem Soleimani, in 2020. Trump also said Israeli leaders needed to “step up their game,” and he referred to Hezbollah, which Israel fears may launch a largescale attack from the country’s north, as “very smart.” In an interview that aired Thursday, Trump said Netanyahu “was not prepared” 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.
“That was a huge mistake,” Graham said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “If I were President Trump, I’d talk about being the strongest president for Israel in modern times.”
Trump’s 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.
“I 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!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social network.
Meanwhile, some Republican primary voters don’t like what they’re hearing from their party’s presidential hopefuls.
“Now, more than ever, is when I feel like we need a strong leader in the White House. Biden ain’t it. Trump ain’t it,” 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 Trump’s initial reaction to the attack on Israel.
“We don’t need somebody who can’t control his emotions,” Woonton said. “I’m not saying he wasn’t a good president. But he’s too immature. … This is not the kind of leader we need in a time of war.”