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DeSantis, Haley spar over China and Gaza refugees in PAC campaign ads [1]

['Robin Opsahl', 'More From Author', '- October']

Date: 2023-10-24

Republican presidential candidates Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley sparred in Iowa campaign ads as foreign policy takes center stage on the Republican presidential campaign trail amid the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Haley, former U.N. ambassador, has highlighted her foreign policy positions on the campaign trail. She often speaks about the need to more aggressively combat countries like China and Russia that could present national security threats to America in the future.

But in an ad released in Iowa and New Hampshire Sunday, Never Back Down, the super PAC supporting DeSantis, claimed that Haley showed “questionable judgment” on China as South Carolina governor.

The advertisement, titled “Dangerous,” highlights Haley’s past support for China Jushi, a fiberglass manufacturing company that established its first U.S. production line in Richland County, South Carolina in 2016. The company is partially a division of China National Building Material Company Limited, a state-owned enterprise.

The ad states that Haley — governor at the time — gave the “Chinese Communist Party 200 acres of land for free,” and criticized allowing the manufacturer to build a plant within five miles of a military facility.

According to the Los Angeles Times, South Carolina state and local governments offered Jushi 250 acres of free land, tax credits and rebates as well as millions in cash grants to build their facility in the state. Haley in 2016 praised the company’s decision to invest in the Columbia manufacturing facility in a South Carolina Department of Commerce news release.

“This investment, which means 400 new jobs for South Carolinians, is a huge win for our state, and we couldn’t be more excited to prove to this fantastic company that its first U.S. fiberglass manufacturing facility is in great hands in Richland County,” Haley said.

The PAC ad campaign comes as Haley is rising as an alternative to former President Donald Trump — who remains the clear frontrunner in the GOP presidential field — in national and state polls. A USA TODAY/Suffolk poll published Monday found Haley at 11% support from registered voters who plan to participate in 2024 GOP primaries or caucuses. That’s just 1 percentage point behind DeSantis at 12%. The Florida governor fell from 23% in June.

Trump has 58% support in the poll. Haley also holds the second-place position behind Trump in New Hampshire Suffolk University and Winthrop University South Carolina October polls.

Campaigning Friday in Cedar Rapids, Haley repeated calls to prevent China from buying American land, saying it poses a national security threat.

“How would we deal with China?” Haley said. “First, you stop selling them any (American) land and we take back everything they’ve already taken.”

The presidential candidate said during her time at the United Nations that China saw the U.S. as “an enemy.” In addition to stopping Chinese purchases of American land, she said she would halt federal funding for U.S. universities if they accept Chinese money, and end normal trade relations with the country until they “stop murdering Americans,” referencing Chinese fentanyl production.

At the Friday event, an attendee asked Haley to explain her choice to give land to Chinese companies as governor.

“There is not another governor in this race that hasn’t worked to recruit Chinese companies, Ron DeSantis included,” Haley said. “And I will tell you also that when we did that, yes, we recruited fiberglass companies. Yes, we recruited other companies. And that’s what we did to bring jobs. Every governor in this country has done the same thing, just like every one of you has Chinese products in your home. The difference is now, we know exactly what they’re doing, how they’re doing it and what we need to do to stop it.”

Republican presidential candidates are focusing more on foreign policy on the campaign trail after the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel. DeSantis and Haley both held events in Iowa in the past week where they emphasized the need to support Israel. Other candidates, including Trump, U.S. Sen. Tim Scott and Gov. Asa Hutchinson have all spoken on the Iowa campaign trail about the conflict.

As Israel becomes a central issue for Republican presidential candidates, the super PAC supporting DeSantis posted a video of Haley on CNN and claimed she supported allowing refugees from Gaza to enter the country.

Nikki Haley argues in support of bringing Gaza refugees to America: "There are so many of these people who want to be free from this terrorist rule. They want to be free from all of that. And America's always been sympathetic to the fact that you can separate civilians from… pic.twitter.com/76R4YPIKw1 — Never Back Down (@NvrBackDown24) October 16, 2023

The SFA fund, the super PAC backing Haley, fired back with an ad saying the claim was false. The campaign video included clips from multiple news reports fact-checking the claim and finding it did not accurately portray Haley’s positions.

“Ron DeSantis is losing, he’s lying,” the narrator said in the video titled “Warned.” “So now he’s throwing mud at Nikki Haley.”

Haley has highlighted her support for Israel and the need for U.S. military strength amid the escalating Middle East violence. In Iowa Friday, she said America has three priorities in the Israel-Hamas conflict.

“Support Israel with whatever they need whenever they need it,” Haley said. “Eliminate Hamas, not weaken them — eliminate Hamas. And do everything we can to bring our hostages home.”

A release by Never Back Down earlier in October claimed Haley was lying about her positions on refugees. The super PAC campaign release pointed to reports where Haley told the United Nations in 2017 that South Carolina “always welcomed the refugee program.” She also said she supported accepting refugees in 2015, though she criticized former President Barack Obama accepting Syrian refugees following ISIL attacks in Paris.

“Haley is running from her own words, doubling down on flat out lies, and attacking Gov. Ron DeSantis – the only candidate in this race with the courage to draw a red line on Gaza refugees to protect our country and fight back against rising anti-Semitism,” The Never Back Down release said. “America deserves a leader, not a liar.”

Both Haley and DeSantis have called for other Middle Eastern countries to accept Palestinian civilians fleeing the conflict in Gaza.

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