Nikki Haley Slams Rival US Presidential Candidate Over Plan to End Israel Aid

Andrew Bernard

---

Former US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley. Photo: Reuters / Mike Segar

Former US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley on Monday slammed rival Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy after he suggested a plan to cut America’s military aid to Israel by 2028.

“Vivek Ramaswamy is completely wrong to call for ending America’s special bond with Israel,” Haley said in a statement. “Support for Israel is both the morally right and strategically smart thing to do. Both countries are stronger and safer because of our iron-clad friendship.”

Ramaswamy, who is currently polling third in the GOP primary behind former President Donald Trump and current Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, suggested Israel received preferential treatment from Washington, saying if he were president there would be “no North Star commitment to any one country” except the US.

The 38-year-old biotech entrepreneur also called for ending US aid to the Jewish state. The current American aid package of $38 billion to Israel passed by the US Congress expires in 2028.

“Come 2028, that additional aid won’t be necessary in order to still have the kind of stability that we’d actually have in the Middle East by having Israel more integrated in with its partners,” Ramaswamy said.

Israel, historically the largest recipient of US military assistance at more than $3 billion a year, is largely required to spend the aid on US-manufactured equipment.

Over the weekend, Ramaswamy further clarified his comments, explaining his plan was to make US aid unnecessary by more fully integrating Israel with its Middle Eastern neighbors. Specifically, he called for building on the Abraham Accords, a series of historic peace agreements between Israel and Arab states brokered with the help of the Trump administration.

“The centerpiece of my Middle East policy in Year 1 will be to consummate ‘Abraham Accords 2.0,’ which will be good for the US and good for Israel,” Ramaswamy wrote on Instagram. “If we can lead the way in helping Israel fully integrate into the economic and security infrastructure of the Middle East via Abraham Accords 2.0, it is better for everyone if Israel is truly able to stand on its own feet with support from partners across the Middle East that we diplomatically bring to the table. We will not leave Israel hanging out to dry — ever.”

Beyond Israel, Haley also took a swipe at Ramaswamy’s other foreign policy positions.

“This is part of a concerning pattern with Vivek,” Haley said. “Between abandoning Israel, abolishing the FBI, and giving Taiwan to China, his foreign policy proposals have a common theme: they make America less safe.”

Ramaswamy has floated the prospect of making territorial concessions to Russia to broker an end to the war in Ukraine and recently suggested America’s commitment to Taiwan would change after his administration attains semiconductor independence for the US.

“[Chinese leader] Xi Jinping should not mess with Taiwan until we have achieved semiconductor independence, until the end of my first term when I will lead us there,” Ramaswamy told radio host Hugh Hewitt earlier this month.

Taiwan — which China seeks to unify with the Chinese mainland, by force if necessary — currently produces a majority of the world’s semiconductors.

---

---