Nikki Haley says her 2024 rival Ron DeSantis isn’t really pro-Israel because he campaigned with Rep. Thomas Massie – the only House Republican who voted against condemning antisemitism at colleges.
She pointed to the hypocrisy after DeSantis and Rep. Massie (R-Ky.) headlined a town hall-style pro-Second Amendment campaign event in Johnstown, Iowa on Saturday.
‘You can’t be pro-Israel and bring the most anti-Israel Republican into this state, who voted against fighting antisemitism on college campuses,’ Haley said during her own remarks in the Hawkeye state on Sunday.
‘And that’s who he brought to your state,’ she said to the crowd of supporters with just a month until the first-in-the-nation caucuses.
Last week, Massie was the lone Republican in the House of Representatives who voted against his party’s resolution condemning anti-semitism on university campuses.
‘Nikki Haley is a brunette Liz Cheney,’ Massie shot-back in a post on X Monday morning. ‘She hates free speech as much as she loves war and foreign aid.’
Former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley accused 2024 rival Ron DeSantis of hypocrisy for being pro-Israel but campaigning with ‘the most anti-Israel Republican’ Rep. Thomas Massie – who voted against a resolution condemning anti-Semitism on college campuses
Florida Gov. DeSantis joined Rep. Massie (R-Ky.) in headlining a pro-Second Amendment town hall in Iowa over the weekend. Massie (left) has faced criticism for anti-Israel sentiments, including posting an antisemitic meme earlier this month
This isn’t the first time Haley has been compared to the Wyoming Cheney family. Biotech entrepreneur called the former UN Ambassador ‘Dick Cheney in three-inch heels’ during the debate in Miami, Florida in November.
Haley’s latest remarks came during a campaign event in Des Moines suburbs as she and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis duke it out for second place behind former President Donald Trump.
In polls released on Sunday, Haley skyrocketed in early primary state New Hampshire into second place – ahead of DeSantis by 18 percent and behind Trump by only 15 percent.
Her criticism of DeSantis heats up an already contentious primary race – where the two have tied in several Iowa polls behind Trump.
Haley’s campaign upped the narrative against DeSantis and him embracing ‘anti-Israel’ lawmaker Haley.
‘Ron DeSantis continues to brag about campaigning with the most anti-Israel Republican in Congress, Rep. Thomas Massie,’ the campaign wrote in a statement on the recent debacle. ‘When asked about Massie’s notorious record, DeSantis defended Massie.’
Massie hit back at Haley’s criticism by calling the 2024 hopeful a ‘brunette Liz Cheney,’ which essentially means she is a RINO – or Republican in name only
The campaign noted that Massie has faced claims of anti-Israel sentiments in the past, including when he was denounced earlier this month by the Republican Jewish Coalition for posting an anti-semitic meme slamming his colleagues in Congress for embracing Zionism.
Meanwhile, DeSantis has repeatedly dubbed himself as staunchly pro-Israel, saying on the campaign trail that it’s more important for taxpayer dollars to support the Jewish state in its conflict with Hamas terrorists than sending more aid to Ukraine in its war with Russia.
DeSantis claims Massie is against foreign aid to Israel, but is not anti-Israel in principle.
Haley’s campaign says this isn’t true, saying DeSantis needs to ‘take a closer look at the record.’
‘Massie routinely votes against recognizing Israel’s right to exist, condemning antisemitism, cracking down on Iranian terrorism, criticizing the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement, and sanctioning terrorist organizations,’ Haley’s team wrote in an email on Monday. ‘DeSantis-ally Thomas Massie votes with the Squad on Israel and terrorism more often than he votes with Republicans. None of that is connected to foreign aid.’
Trump is the heavy favorite to win Iowa’s leadoff caucuses on January 15. Last week during a speech in eastern Iowa, Trump stressed that a blowout in the state would help him rally the party early in the 2024 voting.
It comes after polls show Haley catching up to the ex-president in New Hampshire.
‘The margin of victory is very important, it’s just very important,’ Trump told his audience in Coralville, Iowa.