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(NewsNation) — As four GOP candidates faced off Wednesday in a fiery debate in Alabama, the Israel-Hamas war raged on in Gaza.
When it comes to U.S. involvement in the conflict, a NewsNation/DecisionDesk HQ poll found that nearly 70% of Democrats and independents, as well as, two-thirds of Republicans, favor policies that do not include sending U.S. troops to the Middle East.
Among Republican candidates vying for the White House, each candidate has a different view of what they think is best for the U.S. Here’s what GOP contenders Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley, Vivek Ramaswamy and Chris Christie said about Israel, Gaza and the Middle East at the final GOP debate of the year hosted by NewsNation.
Christie would send US troops to Gaza
At least eight Americans have been held hostage for roughly 60 days now. If elected to the White House, the former New Jersey governor said he would “absolutely” send U.S. troops to Gaza to bring hostages home.
“If they had a plan, which showed me that we could get them out safely, you’re damn right I’d send the American Army in there to get our people home and get them home now,” Christie said.
Christie pressed DeSantis for a direct answer on whether he would send U.S. troops to Gaza.
Pressure on Israel to protect civilians
The continuation of intense fighting between Israeli forces and Hamas has left civilians in Gaza with few places to seek safety. DeSantis criticized the Biden administration for ramping up calls for Israel to comply with international law and protect civilians.
The Florida governor argued at the debate that Israel has a right to defend itself following the Oct. 7 attack.
“This administration is trying to hobble Israel from being able to defend itself. They have a right to eliminate Hamas and win a total and complete victory, so that they never have to deal with this again,” DeSantis said. “Hamas wants nothing less than a second Holocaust — they would wipe off every single Jew off the map, they would destroy the State of Israel.”
DeSantis added President Joe Biden is trying to “kneecap” Israel with each move they make against Hamas.
“You should not try to direct their war effort. We should work together with them so that they can bring Hamas to heel,” DeSantis said.
Ramaswamy claims he has most pro-Israel stance
Like DeSantis, Ramaswamy insisted that Israel should defend itself, describing the attack on Israel as “dead wrong” and a “medieval” act by Hamas.
“I think Israel has an absolute right to defend itself to the fullest without the U.S., the U.N., or the E.U. or anybody else second guessing their decisions as the Biden administration — guess what — is now starting to do,” Ramaswamy said. “I think that’s a more deeply pro-Israel position than anybody else.”
The former Biotech entrepreneur also had a message for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu.
“I’ll tell Bibi, you smoke the terrorists on your southern border, you go ahead and we’re rooting for you. We’re going to smoke the terrorists on our own southern border — And that’s how I’m going to lead this country,” Ramaswamy said.
Anyone attacking US troops will have ‘hell to pay’: DeSantis
American troops continue to be attacked by a wide range of militias in the Middle East. In Alabama at the NewsNation GOP primary debate, DeSantis said Biden is leaving the troops as “sitting ducks.”
“You have Iranians that are attacking these troops,” DeSantis claimed. “He’s responding with basically pinpricks. You harm an American service member, you’re going to have hell to pay when I’m president. We are not going to let our troops be sitting ducks.”
If elected, he aims to strengthen relations with Israel.
Haley: ‘You’ve got to punch them hard’
The former South Carolina governor said some in the Middle East, like Iran, “only respond to strength,” but she denied ever calling for Iran to be bombed.
“You’ve got to punch them and punch them hard,” Haley said, later adding: “That’s what you do, and then that’s when they’ll back off.”
She also believes the Oct. 7 attack on Israel served as an American distraction from the war in Ukraine.
“Russia was losing the war with Ukraine. Putin had hit rock bottom,” she explained.
“So what happened when he hit rock bottom? All of a sudden, his other friend Iran and Hamas goes and invades Israel and butchers those people on Putin’s birthday,” Haley said. “There’s no one happier right now than Putin because all of the attention America had on Ukraine suddenly went to Israel.”
Debate: Is attack on Israel an attack on the US?
While the Oct. 7 attack on Israel has raised national security concerns, Republican candidates seem to disagree on whether it targeted the U.S.
In an Instagram post eight weeks ago, Haley said: “This is not just an attack on Israel — this was an attack on America. Finish them.”
Ramaswamy responded to Haley’s post during Wednesday evening’s debate.
“Finish them was purposefully vague,” Ramaswamy said.
He later added: “(What happened to Israel) was subhuman. It was immoral. And we have to call that out for what it is on Oct. 7. But to say that that was an attack on America fails a basic test.”
He argued it “doesn’t leave room” for what actually is an attack on the U.S.
DeSantis fired back that Americans were killed in Israel.
“Our own people were killed in that attack, and I think it’s absolutely appropriate to point that out and to say that we’re in this together. We are going to work with Israel so that these people are brought to justice,” DeSantis said. “I agree with that, Ambassador.”
DeSantis, Haley, Ramaswamy and Christie took the stage Wednesday in their last chance effort to win over Republican voters before the Iowa caucuses in six weeks. Former President Donald Trump, who has established himself as the front-runner in most polls, did not attend the debate or any of the previous debates.