Trump, Cruz, Rubio argue over who supports Israel the most


Donald Trump, Marco Rubio, and Ted Cruz got into a heated discussion about Israel and peace efforts with the Palestinians at Thursday's big GOP debate, with each one trying to prove they were the most pro-Israel candidate on stage.
Trump said as president, "there's nothing I would rather do than bring peace to Israel and its neighbors, generally. I think it serves no purpose to say you have a good guy and a bad guy." Trump acknowledged he may not be successful ("it's probably the toughest negotiation anywhere in the world"), and said that while he is pro-Israel, "it doesn't do any good to start demeaning the neighbors." Cruz accused Trump of having the same stance as Hillary Clinton, with both wanting to be "neutral," and said he stands "unapologetically with the nation of Israel."
Rubio pounced, saying Trump might not realize it, but "the position you've taken is an anti-Israel position. You cannot be an honest broker in a dispute between two sides, in which one of the sides is constantly acting in bad faith." Rubio said the Palestinian Authority has "walked away from multiple efforts to make peace, very generous offers from the Israelis," and the next president of the United States "needs to be someone like me who will stand firmly on the side of Israel, the only pro-American, free enterprise democracy in the entire Middle East."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Trump shot back, telling Rubio he's not a negotiator and bringing up a previous back-and-forth between Rubio and former candidate New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. "I watched him melt down and I tell ya, it was one of the saddest things I've ever seen," Trump said. "These people may even be tougher than Chris Christie." Rubio sputtered that "the Palestinians are not a real estate deal," but Trump stood firm: "A deal is a deal."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
September 14 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Sunday’s political cartoons include RFK Jr on the hook, the destruction of discourse, and more
-
Air strikes in the Caribbean: Trump’s murky narco-war
Talking Point Drug cartels ‘don’t follow Marquess of Queensberry Rules’, but US military air strikes on speedboats rely on strained interpretation of ‘invasion’
-
A tour of Sri Lanka’s beautiful north
The Week Recommends ‘Less frenetic’ than the south, this region is full of beautiful wildlife, historical sites and resorts
-
House posts lewd Epstein note attributed to Trump
Speed Read The estate of Jeffrey Epstein turned over the infamous 2003 birthday note from President Donald Trump
-
Supreme Court allows 'roving' race-tied ICE raids
Speed Read The court paused a federal judge's order barring agents from detaining suspected undocumented immigrants in LA based on race
-
South Korea to fetch workers detained in Georgia raid
Speed Read More than 300 South Korean workers detained in an immigration raid at a Hyundai plant will be released
-
DC sues Trump to end Guard 'occupation'
Speed Read D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb argues that the unsolicited military presence violates the law
-
RFK Jr. faces bipartisan heat in Senate hearing
Speed Read The health secretary defended his leadership amid CDC turmoil and deflected questions about the restricted availability of vaccines
-
White House defends boat strike as legal doubts mount
Speed Read Experts say there was no legal justification for killing 11 alleged drug-traffickers
-
Epstein accusers urge full file release, hint at own list
speed read A rally was organized by Reps. Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie, who are hoping to force a vote on their Epstein Files Transparency Act
-
Court hands Harvard a win in Trump funding battle
Speed Read The Trump administration was ordered to restore Harvard's $2 billion in research grants