RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel Tells Fox News That Israel Attacks Are ‘a Great Opportunity for Our Candidates’ (Video)

October 7, 2023 @ 5:39 PM

Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel appeared on Fox News on Saturday, telling the network about what Republicans need to do to contrast themselves with Democrats following Hamas attacking Israel.

“I think this is a great opportunity for our candidates to contrast where Republicans have stood with Israel, time and time again, and Joe Biden has been weak,” McDaniel said. “And when America is weak, the world is less safe. We’re seeing this not just with the war in Ukraine and with an emboldened China, but now with an attack on Israel.”

McDaniel connected the attacks on Israel with President Biden announcing last month that $6 billion of Iran’s assets would be unfrozen as part of a prisoner exchange. According to Biden administration officials, none of the money has left the bank account that it’s in, meaning it would not have been able to directly fund these attacks.

“Let’s not forget that it was on 9/11, just less than a month ago, when Joe Biden refused to go to any of the 9/11 sites, that he announced that he was giving $6 billion to Iran,” McDaniel said. Biden went to speak with military service members in Alaska on Sept. 11 this year.

“This is what he did, that was his priority. And now we are seeing the biggest funder of Hamas, Iran, getting money from the United States of America,” McDaniel said. “And I don’t think it’s a coincidence, I don’t think we have to go too far to connect the dots, that now Hamas has attacked Israel.”

McDaniel did not provide any direct evidence of Hamas’ motivations for making this attack on Israel at this time, or of the attitudes of Iran leadership shifting.

“This is falling squarely on the shoulders of Joe Biden. It took him 45 minutes to respond, and I think every Republican candidate needs to point out the distinction between our foreign policy, and our interests in national security for the United States and the world, versus the failure of Joe Biden,” McDaniel said.

She also connected the events with what she called “the failed withdrawal out of Afghanistan” and decisions under President Barack Obama while Biden was vice president.

Speaking specifically about Saturday’s attacks in Israel, McDaniel talked about how it connects with the presidential primary.

“As campaigns unfold, there are always unexpected events that happen that change the course of a campaign,” McDaniel said. Looking to connect the attacks to a larger argument against Biden, McDaniel asserted that, “There is no question that Americans, who are feeling less safe at home economically — certainly on the streets with crime rising — but now are saying, ‘He’s not only a failure domestically, he’s a failure when it comes to foreign policy, and our country is less safe, because we have such a weak leader in Joe Biden.’”

McDaniel concluded the interview by saying, “Thank you, and we stand with Israel. Thank you so much.”