Republican presidential candidate and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy took heat at Wednesday night's GOP debate for his foreign policy views, which include cutting off support for Ukraine, allowing China to invade Taiwan after 2028, and ending aid to Israel.
"Anybody that thinks that we can’t solve the problems here in the United States and be the leader of the free world has a pretty small view of the greatest nation on earth," former vice president Mike Pence said at the debate. "Vivek, if we do the giveaway that you want to give to Putin to give him his land, it’s not gonna be too long before he rolls across a NATO border, and, frankly, our men and women of our armed forces are gonna have to go and fight him."
Former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley also lambasted Ramaswamy. "He wants to hand Ukraine to Russia. He wants to let China eat Taiwan. He wants to go and stop funding Israel. You don’t do that to friends," Haley said, accusing Ramaswamy of "choosing a murderer over a pro-American country."
Ramaswamy has taken fire in recent weeks for his isolationist platform and flip-flopping views on foreign policy.
The 38-year-old entrepreneur said in June that Russia’s war on Ukraine is not "a top foreign policy priority" for the United States. He also said this month that "Xi Jinping should not mess with Taiwan until we have achieved semiconductor independence, until the end of my first term," which would be in 2028. Ramaswamy also told voters in June that he is open to cutting off foreign aid to Israel as "part of a broader disengagement with the Middle East."
Although his comments regarding Israel are on video, Ramaswamy has denied that he wants to take aid away from the Jewish state, insisting at Wednesday’s debate that the claim was "false."