In a combative Republican presidential primary debate in Miami on Nov. 8, businessman Vivek Ramaswamy twice challenged former United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley on foreign policy, first on Israel and then on Ukraine—though one of his lines doubled as an attack on Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
In the debate moderated by NBC’s Lester Holt and Kristen Welker, and conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt, of the Salem Radio Network, Mr. Ramaswamy was asked how he would advise Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu in the midst of the Israel-Hamas war as Israeli hostages remain captive and civilian casualties mount in Gaza. The other candidates had all voiced strong support for Israel as it battles Hamas.
The businessman expressed a similar sentiment that “Israel has the right and the responsibility to defend itself,” before warning about “the mistakes from the neocon [neoconservative] establishment of the past.”
“I think that that’s wrong when Republicans do it or Democrats do it. That’s the choice we face,” said Mr. Ramaswamy.
“Do you want a leader from a different generation who’s going to put this country first, or do you want Dick Cheney in three-inch heels? In this case, we’ve got two of them,” he said, in an apparent dig at both Ms. Haley and Mr. DeSantis.
A few minutes later, Ms. Haley got in a response, saying her heels were “not for a fashion statement, they’re for ammunition” before suggesting that the U.S. should respond aggressively against Iran in retaliation for attacks on U.S. military bases by terrorist groups with links to Tehran.
Mr. Ramaswamy, who in recent weeks has slumped in the polls as Ms. Haley has risen, went on to differentiate himself from Ms. Haley and Mr. DeSantis alike in subsequent responses over her relatively interventionist foreign policy views—something Mr. Ramaswamy has also broached while on Tucker Carlson’s new show on X, formerly Twitter.
Asked about reports of anti-Jewish rhetoric following the onset of hostilities between Israel and Hamas, Mr. Ramaswamy said, “anti-Semitism is a symptom of a deeper cancer.”
“Several years ago, when I wrote my first book, ‘Woke Inc.,’ I was talking about [the chants of] ‘Death to America, death to white people, death to Christians.’ Nobody was waking up back then… Now they’re ‘Death to Israel,’ and worse,” he said.
He called out the two politicians for what he characterized as actions aimed at censorship, including Mr. DeSantis’s call for a ban on multiple pro-Palestinian student groups.
“When they’re siding with Hamas over Israel, they’re fools,” Mr. Ramaswamy said, before arguing that censorship tactics could be flipped on critics of vaccines, concerned parents at school board meetings, and advocates for those imprisoned in connection with the riot and protests on January 6.
Mr. Ramaswamy went on to criticize Ms. Haley over her advocacy of Ukraine funding, noting that the country had moved to ban the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which the Ukrainian government alleges is taking orders from Russia.
“To frame this as some kind of battle between good vs. evil—don’t buy it,” he said.
“Do you want U.S. taxpayer money to fund the banning of Christians?” he asked Ms. Haley.
“[Russian President Vladimir] Putin and [China leader] President Xi are salivating at the thought that someone like that could become president,” she remarked.
As she continued speaking, Mr. Ramaswamy jumped in to respond before Ms. Welker silenced him.
Mr. Ramaswamy continued his criticism of Ms. Haley during a round of questions over the TikTok social media app.
The candidate has taken hits for using the app as a tool to reach younger Americans, despite its connections to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
“Her own daughter was using the app for a long time,” he said.
“Leave my daughter out of your voice,” Ms. Haley responded.
“Now it’s popular to talk tough on China,” Mr. Ramaswamy said later, adding that she had spoken of the country in more positive terms during her stint as UN ambassador.
He said the country should prevent companies from giving Chinese firms their data.
