Ramaswamy blasts Haley in escalating feud over Israel

NASHUA, N.H. — Vivek Ramaswamy is escalating his attacks on Nikki Haley over Israel.

The first-time candidate said the former U.N. ambassador and GOP primary rival should be “disqualified from being president,” accusing her of having “personal conflicts of interest” — an apparent reference to her business ties — and a “hawkish neoconservative vision that I worry is going to lead us to prolonged conflict and war.”

“Nikki Haley has foreign policy experience and it shows — in her bank account, to the tune of $8 million,” Ramaswamy said outside a New Hampshire GOP event on Friday night, gathering reporters while Haley was midway through speaking to activists inside the ballroom.

“It is sick. Especially when you have a Biden crime family and the White House that has monetized their connections and their foreign policy and sold off our foreign policy. We don't need to substitute them with a Republican version of the same,” Ramaswamy said. “I do not want a president anywhere near the White House who’s willing to march us into World War III, as [Haley’s] rhetoric suggests.”

Ramaswamy slammed Haley in response to comments she made earlier in the day equating the entrepreneur’s views on Israel and foreign policy to those of the far-left “squad” in Congress.

“Ramaswamy sounds like the squad,” Haley told reporters after filing for the primary ballot at the state capitol. “And there’s no place for the squad or Ramaswamy” in discussions of international affairs. Haley’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Ramaswamy’s remarks.

It’s the latest salvo in the opponents’ long-running feud over foreign policy that’s ratcheted up since Hamas attacked Israel last weekend. And it comes days after Ramaswamy was rebuked by his rivals for accusing Republicans in a conversation with Tucker Carlson of showing “selective moral outrage” over Hamas’ attacks. In his interview with Carlson, he claimed that some who are advocating for a stronger military response are being driven by money and “the corrupting influence of super PACs.” Haley has offered full-throated and unwavering support for Israel this week.

While the GOP presidential primary field was largely aligned in backing Israel in the hours after Hamas militants launched the deadliest attack on the Middle Eastern country in decades, the war more recently has become a friction point in the primary.

Former President Donald Trump has drawn sharp rebukes from several of his rivals for criticizing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and referring to Hezbollah as “very smart” — including from Haley and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.