By Mayank Chhaya-
Republican candidate Nikki Haley’s assertively unambiguous position on the Israel-Hamas war appears to be helping sharpen her differentiation from the rest of the names in the field and even likely boost her prospects for nomination.
Even though former President Donald Trump remains the frontrunner, Haley, a former South Carolina governor and U.N. ambassador, has been showing clear signs of gaining ground in the last two weeks or so. In fact, there are those who think if the rest of the aspirants, including former Vice President Mike Pence, former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, South Carolina Senator Tim Scott and Ohio entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, were to drop out Haley, has the potential to emerge as a credible alternative to Trump.
Two respected conservative columnists David Brooks of The New York Times and George F. Will have both supported Haley as a credible alternative to Trump. As early as on August 24, Brooks wrote, under the headline “Nikki Haley is the best Trump alternative”, “She seems to be one of the few candidates who understands that to run against Trump you have to run against Trump.” He said, “if any of my friends and acquaintances want to stop Trump, this is their moment to give Haley her chance.”
Will, writing in The Washington Post on October 10, wrote under the headline “Tim Scott, please drop out, urge others to follow and unite behind Haley.”
“By catalyzing a coalescence around Haley, Scott could transform the nation’s political mood. As long as the Republican race pits Donald Trump against a cluster of lagging pursuers, the nominating electorate cannot ponder a binary choice. When, however, it is Trump against one experienced, polished, steely and unintimidated adversary, voters can internalize this exhilarating reality: There is a choice suitable for a great nation,” Will wrote.
He also believes that Haley would be heavily favored” against the “fast fading” President Joe Biden.
Although the evidence in support of Haley’s rising star is so far scattered and in bits and pieces, the signs are becoming clearer. Former Texas Republican Representative Will Hurd ended his campaign for the presidential nomination on October 9 and declared support for Haley.
She has been relentless in her support of Israel and rejection of Hamas. In a tweet on October 22, she said, “Hamas has always been clear about its goals: To eradicate Israel. There is only one solution for such an enemy: Finish them.”
“Hamas has been planning this for years. We knew about the maps. We knew about the tunnels. Stand with Israel when it is hit and stand with Israel when it hits back,” she tweeted on October 19.
It is clear that she and her campaign have recognized that backing Israel against Hamas as a matter of principle also offers Haley a clear differentiation vis-à-vis Trump who has made some bizarre observations in that context. He called Hamas “very smart” and has been quoted as saying that “liberal Jews” want to “destroy America and Israel.” He has also said Jews have been “ungrateful” to him. That point of view may have some traction within sections of the Republican base known for its open animus against Jews and Israel but overall, it is deeply problematic for him.
That is where Haley stands to gain considerably by maintaining her staunchly pro-Israeli position. She has made significant gains in recent polls prompting even an avowed liberal such as the talk show host and political commentator Bill Maher to say that many centrist voters find her to be “as good as it gets Republican.”
Although she is still in the third position within the Republican nomination race scoring just about 10 percent behind Trump’s 59 percent and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’s 13 percent, she has got there by rising steadily. It is in this context that moderate and centrist Republicans such as Hurd have been advocating that the rest of the candidates opt out and declare their support for Haley as a viable challenge to Trump.
It is hard to say whether she can persuade the rest of the candidates to opt out for the good of the party and against Trump’s unending destructiveness. However, the Israel-Hamas war has given her the best possible opportunity to position herself as the candidate to beat President Biden. It is interesting that in that context she has repeatedly said a Biden victory potentially means a Kamala Harris presidency because of his age. That too appears to resonate with some Republicans.
