Former New Jersey governor Chris Christie said Thursday he believes sending aid to Gaza amid the fighting between Israel and Hamas is a “very, very low priority.”
“Well, the bottom line is what we need to be focused on is militarily and financially helping Israel militarily, helping Ukraine, arming Taiwan to send a clear message to the Chinese and securing our southern border better than what we’re doing right now,” Christie told reporters in New Hampshire on Thursday when he filed for primary ballot access. “Those are all priorities over any aid to Gaza.”
Addressing reporters alongside prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel Wednesday morning, Biden announced that he would provide $100 million in humanitarian assistance to the Palestinians. He did not say how his administration would prevent the funds and supplies from falling into the hands of Hamas terrorists who massacred 1,400 Israeli civilians in a surprise attack earlier this month.
The White House later said the aid would be distributed through the U.N. and unspecified non-governmental organizations. But Hamas has a long history of seizing humanitarian aid provided to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency. Just two days before Biden’s announcement, the group announced in a since-deleted social-media post that unidentified gunmen had stolen humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip.
The rest of the 2024 Republican presidential field was critical of Biden’s announcement.
Florida governor Ron DeSantis led the charge, calling the aid a “gift to Hamas” in a video posted to social media and challenging the rest of the GOP field to join him in objecting to the decision.
“They say it’s humanitarian assistance. We know Hamas is going to commandeer that money and Hamas is going to use it to advance terrorism,” DeSantis said. “We still have hostages being held by Hamas. There are American hostages being held by Hamas. How are you funding them when they’re holding Americans as well as others hostage? I challenge everyone running: step up to the plate, join me in opposing Biden’s $100 million gift to Hamas.”
North Dakota governor Doug Burgum reacted to the news by saying Biden “never learns.”
“He’s funding both sides of this war with his $6 billion hostage payout and easing of oil export sanctions on Iran,” Burgum said in a statement to National Review. “Unlike other international organizations, the U.N. doesn’t recognize Hamas as a terrorist organization, so any money Biden gives to the U.N. will inevitably end up funding Hamas terrorist activities.”
A spokeswoman for Nikki Haley’s campaign said the former South Carolina governor objects to the provision of aid, given how easily it could fall into the hands of Hamas.
“Nikki opposes taxpayer dollars for Gaza just like she did when she helped eliminate it at the U.N. The money is too easily diverted to Hamas and is not a good use of tax dollars. Arab countries should step up if they want to help Palestinians as much as they claim,” the spokeswoman said in a statement provided to National Review.
During her time as ambassador to the U.N., Haley cut off U.S. aid to the UNRWA, citing the agency’s long history of corruption and its misuse of funds. But the aid was restored under the Biden administration, which has since provided $731 million to Gaza and the West Bank through the UNRWA.
Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina concurred, telling National Review: “No, there should not be a single U.S. dollar that risks ending up in the hands of Hamas. The terrorist organization brutally murdered innocent Israelis and dozens of Americans. I’ll take steps this week to ensure no future taxpayer dollars make their way into the hands of Hamas.”
Trump, meanwhile, called Biden’s aid announcement “totally inappropriate” in comments to a reporter outside a Manhattan courthouse Wednesday afternoon.
Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, for his part, said in a statement to National Review that the conversation about aid to Gaza is a “sideshow,” saying there is “now discussion in Congress about a combined $100 *billion* for foreign wars we shouldn’t be in.”
“The other Republican candidates are too scared to talk about the real elephant in the room: the disastrous ground invasion into Gaza that’s now imminent which will advance neither Israel’s interests nor ours,” he said.