Trump's rivals take aggressive stance toward Hamas at third Republican debate

Asked what message they would send to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said, "I will be telling Bibi, 'Finish the job once and for all with these butchers Hamas, they're terrorists,'" using Netanyahu's nickname. Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, who has staked much of her candidacy on her foreign policy credentials, faulted Biden for pressing Israel to consider humanitarian pauses.

Donald Trump's rivals for the Republican presidential nomination talked tough about the Israel-Hamas conflict at Wednesday's debate, pledging unconditional support for Israel and attacking Democratic President Joe Biden's handling of the crisis. Asked what message they would send to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said, "I will be telling Bibi, 'Finish the job once and for all with these butchers Hamas, they're terrorists,'" using Netanyahu's nickname.

Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, who has staked much of her candidacy on her foreign policy credentials, faulted Biden for pressing Israel to consider humanitarian pauses. "The last thing we need to do is to tell Israel what to do," she said. "The only thing we should be doing is supporting them and eliminating Hamas."

South Carolina Senator Tim Scott said Biden should carry out direct strikes against Iran, a sponsor of Hamas, in retaliation for attacks on U.S. military personnel by Iranian proxies in Syria and Iraq. He spoke shortly after the U.S. carried out strikes against a weapon storage facility in Syria that the Pentagon said was used by Iranian forces. "If you want to make a difference, you cannot just continue to have strikes in Syria on warehouses," he said. "You actually have to cut off the head of the snake, and the head of the snake is Iran and not simply the proxies."

The discourse on the Israel-Hamas conflict followed the debate's opening segment, in which the candidates were asked to make the case for being the Republican standard-bearer over Trump, the race's clear frontrunner. For the third time, the former president did not show up for the debate, instead holding a rival event close by.

DeSantis criticized Trump for skipping the event, which took place in their shared home state of Florida, and suggested that the party's poor showing in Tuesday's off-year elections should be laid at Trump's feet. "He said Republicans were gonna get tired of winning," DeSantis said. "Well, we saw last night - I'm sick of Republicans losing!"

Haley offered a more muted critique. "Everybody wants to talk about President Trump. I can tell you that I think he was the right president at the right time," she said. "I don't think he's the right president now."

With the first Republican state nominating contest in Iowa little more than two months away, Trump's rivals may not have many more chances to derail the commanding lead he holds among Republican voters in public opinion polling, despite his multiple criminal indictments. Haley, 51, in third place nationally, has grown stronger as she seeks to dislodge DeSantis, 45, from his distant second place.

Trump, 77, has done his best to deny Haley and DeSantis a direct target, instead focusing on what he expects to be a rematch with Biden, 80. In the two previous televised debates, Haley and DeSantis had been careful not to come down on Trump too hard for fear of alienating his supporters, whose backing they will need if they are to ultimately capture the Republican nomination in July.

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In addition to pushing for a more muscular response abroad, the candidates also vowed to punish Hamas sympathizers at home. Asked about pro-Palestinian rallies that have proliferated on college campuses, Scott said he would withhold federal funding for any universities that fail to prevent antisemitism.

DeSantis promised to deport any students who expressed support for Hamas. "If you are here on a student visa as a foreign national and you're making common cause with Hamas, I'm canceling your visa and I'm sending you home," he said. "No questions asked."

Trump held a campaign rally a few miles away in the heavily Hispanic city of Hialeah. Hispanics are a voting group both parties will be courting heavily. Haley, a former South Carolina governor, was coming off two strong debate performances and has been the only Republican besides Trump to show recent momentum in early nominating states such as Iowa and New Hampshire.

While DeSantis and Haley hope to capitalize on strong debate performances, the debate could well fail to offer a turning point in what has been a race dominated by Trump from the start. The three other debate participants - Scott, former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy - sought to assert their relevance and find a path forward.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)