Pence Would Have U.S. Boots on the Ground if President

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Presidential candidate Mike Pence said that if he was president commanding the United States’ armed forces right now, he would be deploying troops to Israel. Pence made his comments while on CNN with Jake Tapper. 

Pence stated that if Hamas did not give up American hostages then he would send U.S. troops to “come and get ‘em.” 

“We’re talking about Americans now,” Pence said. “Jake, we’re talking about Americans that have been captured and taken hostage by the brutal Hamas terrorists.”

As of the outbreak of the conflict between Israel and Hamas a couple weeks ago, it was reported that approximately 150 people were taken hostage by Hamas, some were Americans.

Since then, Hamas has released two Americans, according to Israeli authorities. Hamas said they were released for “humanitarian reasons.”

OTHER CANDIDATES AND THEIR SUPPORT FOR ISRAEL

The other GOP presidential candidates have expressed support for Israel, seemingly in a competition to show who supports Israel the most. 

Former President Donald Trump said that during his first term, he fought for Israel “like no president ever before.” 

“So I fought for Israel like no president ever before recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, which is a big deal. And [I] even recognized Israel sovereignty over the Golan Heights, something that they never even thought — we gave them that,” Trump said.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has also taken action to show his – and Florida’s – support for Israel. 

DeSantis ordered flights to get Floridians out of potential harm from the conflict, as well as providing “important supplies to our valued ally, Israel.” Florida’s governor also called for a special session of the Florida Legislature to issue new sanctions against Iran after they have been known to back Hamas. 

Candidate Nikki Haley – known for her war hawk-ish views – stopped short of saying she would deploy ground troops to Israel, but did say she would give them “whatever they need” and to do “whatever Israel asks.” 

“They’re not going to be quick to say ‘Oh, we need American troops,’” Haley said. “They want to fight this on their own. But when they ask for something, that means Israel really does need it, and [President Joe] Biden can’t hesitate. He’s got to give it right when they ask."