GOP Primary Contenders Largely Silent On How They’d Crack Down On Country Supporting Hamas Terrorists

GOP Primary Contenders Largely Silent On How They’d Crack Down On Country Supporting Hamas Terrorists

Micaela Burrow and Mary Lou Masters on October 28, 2023

• The majority of the Republican primary field has remained silent as to whether the U.S. should increase pressure on a country harboring Hamas leaders and funding the terrorist group.
• Only former Vice President Mike Pence, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and conservative radio personality Larry Elder, two of whom have since suspended their campaigns, weighed in on designating Qatar as a state sponsor of terrorism in comments to the Daily Caller News Foundation.
• “It’s very surprising. I’m not sure how you say you’re against Hamas and you support destroying Hamas, but you’d give a pass to any country sponsoring and hosting Hamas,” Richard Goldberg, senior adviser at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies think tank, told the DCNF.

Republican presidential candidates are largely silent on the question of what they would do to crack down on a country harboring Hamas leaders and financing the terrorist group.

Only three GOP candidates — two of whom have since dropped out of the race — responded to the Daily Caller News Foundation when asked whether they would add Qatar to a list of countries known to sponsor terrorism on the grounds of its ties to Hamas, the militant group responsible for the deaths of 1,400 Israelis on Oct. 7. None of them said they would absolutely designate Qatar as a state sponsor of terrorism, and most of the Republican primary field’s major contenders failed to weigh in on the matter.

“It’s very surprising. I’m not sure how you say you’re against Hamas and you support destroying Hamas, but you’d give a pass to any country sponsoring and hosting Hamas,” Richard Goldberg, senior adviser at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies think tank, told the DCNF.

Only former Vice President Mike Pence, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and conservative radio personality Larry Elder, two of whom have since withdrawn from the race, responded to the DCNF’s requests for comment.

All three did say they opposed Qatar’s stance on Hamas, and they’ve repeatedly condemned the terrorist group following the attacks, which is supported in part through illicit funding via Qatari entities and whose leaders are granted safe haven in the capital Doha.

“Anyone who refuses to at least consider designating Qatar as a state sponsor of terrorism, among many other pressure options, isn’t serious about defeating Hamas,” Goldberg added.

Pence, who suspended his campaign Saturday, would “consider all available options” for pressuring Qatar to end its support for Hamas and other terrorist organizations, an adviser for the former vice president told the DCNF.

“As you know, Mike Pence was one of the first governors to go after the [Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions] movement and has an incredibly strong record of support for Israel throughout his career,” the adviser said.

Burgum, likewise, said labeling Qatar as a terrorism sponsor “would have to be one of several pressure options on the table” if the country’s ties to Hamas persist.

“Qatar needs to understand that all policy assumptions were reset on October 7th. You can’t be friends with the United States and Hamas at the same time,” Burgum told the DCNF.

Hamas took more than 200 people hostage, including U.S. citizens, after the Oct. 7 incursions into Israel. Burgum added that doubling down pressure on Doha, which has served as an interlocutor between Hamas and international partners in prisoner release discussions, could give the U.S. leverage in future hostage negotiations.

“Joe Biden needs to get a lot tougher with Doha to win the unconditional release of all hostages,” Burgum said.

Prior to Elder’s campaign suspension on Thursday evening, he told the DCNF that he doesn’t support defining Qatar as a state sponsor of terrorism.

“On the one hand, Qatar has played a key role stopping Biden’s $6 billion blank to Iran. However, on the other hand, Qatar-based Al Jazeera broadcasts pro-Palestine, anti-Israeli coverage. It needs to pick a side, and I suggest that side is freedom,” Elder said.

Head of Hamas Ismail Haniyeh, who is lavishly hosted in Qatar 🇶🇦, shows how much he cares about the lives of Palestinians:

“We need the blood of the women, children, and elderly in Gaza so it awakens the spirit of resolve within us.”pic.twitter.com/vqE6Q8lC01

— Dr. Eli David (@DrEliDavid) October 27, 2023

Former President Donald Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, conservative businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson did not weigh in upon multiple requests for comment.

The RealClearPolitics average for a 2024 national Republican primary, based on polls conducted between Oct. 4 and Oct. 23, indicates that Trump is leading the crowded field by over 46 points, followed by DeSantis with 12.6%, Haley with 8.3%, Ramaswamy with 4.5%, Pence at 3.5% and Christie at 2.4%. Scott has 1.6% support, while Hutchinson and Burgum both have 0.6%.

Designation as a state sponsor of terrorism can trigger consequences including a ban on weapons imports from the U.S., aid restrictions and other financial hardships, according to the State Department. Currently, the State Department considers Cuba, Iran, Syria and North Korea as formal sponsors of terrorism.

Qatar hosts the largest U.S. military base in the Gulf region and in 2022 was designated under the Biden administration as a “Major Non-NATO Ally.”

However, Qatar’s long history of promoting violent Palestinian opposition and supporting Hamas warrants a designation, experts say.

“Qatar’s thesis that the United States and Israel needed Qatar’s support for Hamas to keep Hamas in line was completely disproven by the events of October 7. We need to put maximum pressure on Qatar to terminate its support to Hamas without delay,” Goldberg said in testimony to Congress on Oct. 25.

At the height, Qatar was spending $30 million each month ostensibly to operate the territory’s only power plant, alleviate poverty and pay the salaries of Hamas officials, Reuters reported. It also nailed down an arrangement to transfer fuel from Egypt to Hamas, who then sold the fuel and said it devoted the proceeds toward salaries.

Some of Hamas’ top leaders have been seen in Doha since Hamas perpetrated the attacks, which compelled Israel to declare war on the group. The head of Hamas’ political wing, Ismail Haniyeh, relocated to Qatar in 2020, according to a 2022 Congressional Research Service report.

The Biden and Trump administrations have engaged with Qatar to clamp down on illicit financing of terrorists through charities based in the region, the most recent State Department terrorism report on Qatar from 2021 states.

However, following the Oct. 7 attacks, the Treasury Department on Oct. 18 sanctioned Muhammad Ahmad ‘Abd Al-Dayim Nasrallah, a “longtime Hamas operative based in Qatar with close ties to Iranian elements,” who helped funnel millions to Hamas, including the organization’s military arm.

In addition, the Qatar-funded Al Jazeera media network has maintained pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel coverage of the Gaza conflict, critics say, according to Axios. Experts debunked an Al Jazeera analysis of the rocket strike on a Gaza hospital claiming Israel attacked the hospital.

The Republican primary field has been supportive of Israel following the Hamas terrorist attacks, condemning the group and widespread antisemitism. Haley, DeSantis, Burgum and Elder floated pulling federal funding from colleges that enable anti-Israel hate following student-led protests, campus demonstrations and letters in solidarity of Palestine.

Qatar did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.

This story has been updated to reflect that Mike Pence suspended his presidential campaign Saturday.