In the first Republican candidate debate on Aug. 24, Israel became the center of a heated exchange between two of those vying for the presidency in 2024. The Jewish state did not come up at all during the two-hour second debate at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum in Simi Valley, Calif., a month later on Sept. 27. Instead, the seven candidates focused largely on domestic issues, including urban crime, illegal drugs, immigration and the Southern border.
Throughout the event, the moderators—Dana Perino of Fox News, Stuart Varney of Fox Business Network and Ilia Calderón of Univision—struggled to keep the candidates under control. When Perino asked each of the seven to take 15 seconds and write on a notecard which candidate on stage “should be voted off the island,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said, “I’ll decline to do that, with all due respect.”
