The top five Republican presidential candidates squared off in their third debate, going head to head for the first time since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war.
Frontrunner former President Donald Trump was once again absent from the debate stage, leaving the candidates to focus on foreign policy and the U.S. relationship with Israel in its war with Hamas.
Candidates were asked what they would urge Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to do at this moment.
“I would be telling Bibi, ‘Finish the job once and for all with these butchers, Hamas,'” answered Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. “They’re terrorists; they’re massacring innocent people. They would wipe every Jew off the globe if they could.”
“The first thing I said to him when it happened was, I said, ‘Finish them. Finish them,'” said former U.N. Ambassador and former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley.
“America is here, no matter what it is you need at any time to preserve the State of Israel,” said former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. “Remember that Hamas’ main goal is to get rid of Israel.”
Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy sent a message of support, tempered by an America-first stance.
“What I would tell Bibi is that Israel has
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