Nikki Haley criticised Donald Trump for praising foreign strongmen and warned that his style of “chaos, vendettas and drama” would be dangerous, making her sharpest critiques of the former president as the two GOP presidential candidates and their rivals addressed an influential group of Jewish Republicans.
“Eight years ago, it was good to have a leader who broke things,” Haley said of Trump. “But right now, we need to have a leader who also knows how to put things back
together.”
Haley, a former United Nations ambassador, leaned into her foreign policy experience as she argued for longstanding Republican ideas on foreign policy at the Republican Jewish Coalition’s annual meeting in Las Vegas. Another GOP foreign policy traditionalist and periodic Trump critic, former Vice President Mike Pence, used his appearance to end his candidacy, the latest sign of the former president’s dominance in the primary.
The Republican presidential candidates on Saturday uniformly supported Israel’s offensive against Hamas, a departure from their divide on the whether the U.S. should support Ukraine against Russia’s invasion.
Support for Israel is a central issue in the Republican primary, particularly among evangelical Christians influential in Iowa, which holds the first Republican caucuses.
Trump, the runaway front-runner in the 2024 race, did not acknowledge Haley, Pence or the others who spoke before him. He instead extolled his own record in the White House. He boasted that if elected president again, he would restore “peace through strength” and would “stop World War III.” He drew rousing applause, cheers and multiple standing ovations.
This year’s summit, running Friday through Sunday, comes as Israel responds to Hamas militants who killed hundreds of civilians in an Oct. 7 attack. The candidates took the stage in Las Vegas hours after Israel on Saturday expanded its ground operation into Gaza, expanding the war into a new stage of fighting. Israel was also continuing a bombardment of air strikes on the enclave of 2.3 million people that cut off communications and led to warnings of major civilian casualties.
Pence did not mention Trump while announcing he would drop out of the race. But he called on President Joe Biden to unconditionally support Israel. He urged the crowd at the summit to “hold fast” to faith, family and the U.S. Constitution and he promoted America’s role “as leader of the free world.”
Haley mentioned Trump by name and said he was a “pro-Israel president,” but then went on to say: “The question is, what will he do in the future?”
She noted Trump’s comments days after Hamas’ attack when he drew condemnation for lashing out at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and referring to the militant group Hezbollah as “very smart.” Haley also referred to Trump’s repeated praise for the autocratic leaders of China and North Korea. “These are not good or smart people,” Haley said.
