Source: Politics<\/p>\n
GOP presidential candidates moved swiftly Saturday to pin the blame on President Joe Biden and his administration\u2019s policies following an unprecedented attack on Israel by militant group Hamas that killed at least 40 people.<\/p>\n
Former President Donald Trump praised his previous administration’s policies on Israel while bashing the current White House.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese Hamas attacks are a disgrace and Israel has every right to defend itself with overwhelming force,\u201d Trump said in a statement released by his campaign. \u201cSadly, American taxpayer dollars helped fund these attacks, which many reports are saying came from the Biden Administration. We brought so much peace to the Middle East through the Abraham Accords, only to see Biden whittle it away at a far more rapid pace than anyone thought possible. Here we go again.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nikki Haley, the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations under Trump, said that Hamas had \u201cdeclared war on Israel\u201d on the 50th anniversary of the Yom Kippur War, calling the group a \u201cbloodthirsty terrorist organization backed by Iran and determined to kill as many innocent lives as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe reports out of Israel are horrific with a stunning number of dead and wounded and should be universally condemned,\u201d Haley said. \u201cIsrael has every right to defend its citizens from terror. We must always stand with Israel and against this Iranian regime.\u201d<\/p>\n
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis called for \u201ca swift and lethal response\u201d and said that \u201cAmerica must stand with Israel.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe dastardly terrorist attacks perpetrated against innocent Israeli civilians by Iran-backed terror group Hamas deserve a swift and lethal response,\u201d the GOP presidential candidate \u2014 and longtime ally to Israel \u2014 said in a social media post<\/a>, followed by a video of him speaking directly to camera.<\/p>\n \u201cIran has helped fund this war against Israel and Joe Biden’s policies that have gone easy on Iran has helped to fill their coffers,\u201d DeSantis said in a video posted to social media<\/a>.<\/p>\n South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott also blamed the Biden administration. \u201cThe truth is though, Joe Biden funded these attacks on Israel,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cAmerica’s weakness is blood in the water for bad actors, but this is worse than that. We didn\u2019t just invite this aggression, we paid for it. Iran is the biggest funder of Hamas. This is the Biden $6 billion ransom payment at work,\u201d Scott wrote in a post on X<\/a>, formerly known as Twitter.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is what happens when [Biden] projects weakness on the world stage, kowtows to the mullahs in Iran with a $6 Billion ransom, and leaders in the Republican Party signal American retreat as Leader of the Free World,\u201d former Vice President Mike Pence wrote on social media<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery American should condemn the unprovoked and massive attack on Israel by terrorists in Hamas,\u201d Pence said in an earlier post<\/a>, calling Israel \u201cour most cherished ally.\u201d<\/p>\n A spokesperson for Vivek Ramaswamy\u2019s campaign, Tricia McLaughlin, issued a statement on his behalf.<\/p>\n \u201cWe stand with Israel and are appalled by these attacks,\u201d McLaughlin said. \u201cShooting civilians and kidnapping children are war crimes. Israel\u2019s right to exist and defend itself must never be doubted. Hamas and Hezbollah terrorists cannot be allowed to prevail.\u201d<\/p>\n