If Ron DeSantis felt secure about his record on Israel, he wouldn’t have to dispatch his supporters to lie about Nikki Haley’s record on Israel.
But that’s exactly what he’s done. DeSantis’ charges against Haley have been called false by CNN, Check Your Fact, PolitiFact, Semafor, National Review, and Newsmax. The truth is Haley believes Arab countries in the Middle East should absorb Gazan refugees.
But there is a larger issue at play here. With threats increasing across the world, who is best equipped to keep America safe and stand by our allies like Israel? We don’t have to guess. The historical record is clear. While DeSantis was a backbench congressman trying to ban domestic drilling and fracking, Haley was at the United Nations, taking on the world’s worst dictators and standing up to Iran, Hamas, China, Russia, North Korea, and many others.
Let’s review.
Haley took on the establishment officials in the State Department and pushed President Donald Trump to withdraw U.S. funding for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees, known as UNRWA. UNRWA is a corrupt and anti-Israel organization that uses textbooks that teach antisemitism in Gaza and the West Bank. Hamas also uses UNRWA schools to shield its elaborate terror tunnel system. Thanks to Haley’s efforts, the U.S. eliminated all taxpayer funding for UNRWA in 2018.
When it came to defending Israel, Haley was unapologetic and loud. She repeatedly slammed the UN for obsessively criticizing Israel and rarely saying a peep about brutal terrorist groups, like Hamas and Hezbollah, who kill innocent civilians. She defended Israel’s right to defend itself and pushed the UN to label Hamas a terrorist group. To this day, the UN refuses to do so. And Nikki pulled the U.S. out of the anti-Israel human rights council.
When Trump moved the United States embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, Haley stood up to anti-American and anti-Israel haters at the UN. She defended our right to put our embassy wherever we choose and defended Israel’s right to claim Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
Haley was also prescient on Iran. She knew that Iran funds terror groups all over the Middle East, from Hamas in Gaza to Hezbollah in Lebanon to the Houthis in Yemen. Today, we are seeing the devastating consequences of Iran’s proxy war. Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden gave Iran planes full of cash. Known as the “Iran whisperer,” Haley pushed Trump to pull out of Obama’s dangerous Iran deal and send a message that America will not ignore Iran’s terrorist network.
The world is a dangerous and complicated place. Haley understands that Israel’s war against Hamas isn’t just about Israel or Hamas. Iran is funding Hamas. But Iran isn’t acting alone. Iran works in tandem with Russia and China. In other words, they are all on the same team, and they all see America and our allies as the enemy.
Unfortunately, DeSantis doesn’t get it. He thinks we can pretend Russia doesn’t exist. He thinks we can pretend Hezbollah hasn’t amassed 150,000 rockets just north of Israel. He thinks we don’t need allies around the world to stand with us. That is naive and dangerous.
This isn’t a game of Risk. America needs a leader who understands that our enemies understand just one language: Strength. When America is weak, our enemies are emboldened. Haley went toe-to-toe with our enemies every day at the UN. Now, as Israel faces an existential risk, she is clear-eyed about what America needs to do to support Israel and destroy Hamas.
The last thing America needs right now is childish lies from a desperate campaign clinging to the last hopes of relevancy. America needs to wake up, and Nikki Haley is the woman for the job.
