Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley’s Gaza refugee fight spills onto airwaves with duelings ads
The rivalry between Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley has hit a fever pitch, with super PACs and both campaigns releasing ads targeting the other as they go head-to-head in the polls.
Pro-DeSantis Super PAC Never Back Down published several ads directly hitting Haley this week over her remarks about Gaza refugees, changing up their previous strategy of only targeting former President Donald Trump and President Biden.
The super PAC’s ads emphasized Haley’s Oct. 15 comments about America being able to “separate civilians from terrorists” in claiming the former ambassador to the UN wants to allow in refugees from the Gaza Strip — the territory controlled by the terror group Hamas, which launched a war against Israel on Oct. 7.
One ad, titled “ZERO Gaza refugees,” will air on TV and was funded by Never Back Down to the tune of about $1 million, a super PAC rep told The Post. The other ads are meant to be circulated online.
The other ads also highlight that DeSantis was the first candidate to come out against accepting Gazans due to them being “antisemitic,” and featured footage of Haley saying she would support aid to Gaza in 2017, while she was still UN envoy.
Haley has maintained she never supported accepting Gaza refugees and her campaign has pointed to several media fact checks debunking DeSantis’ claim.
Haley’s campaign also launched an online ad Friday titled “Desperate DeSantis.”
The ad begins by apparently hitting the Florida governor on his personality, which critics say is too “awkward,” and shifts to featuring various commentators pointing to DeSantis slipping in the polls.
“Why is Desperate DeSantis attacking Nikki Haley? He’s losing to Nikki. And it’s easy to see why,” the video reads. “Nikki’s out-classed him at every turn. Sorry Ron. Fake Attacks. Five campaign ‘reboots.’ Phony smiles. Your desperation is showing.”
“Ron DeSantis’ campaign has been five months of one disaster after another,” Haley campaign spokesman Ken Farnaso said in a statement. “Now, as his campaign takes its last breath, he’s lying about Nikki Haley’s record because he’s desperate. It’s not a good look. Voters are rallying behind Nikki Haley’s strength and toughness in the face of increasing threats across the world. They know she will make America strong and proud.”
The increasing attacks come as the two candidates jockey for second place behind Trump in both national and key early state polls. Both campaigns have said they are putting emphasis on the initial contests, with the DeSantis campaign specifically targeting Iowa as a way to catapult him past the former president.
Never Back Down said the ads on Haley do not mark a strategy shift, and insisted that the campaign is a “two-man” race between Trump and DeSantis.
“DeSantis is the only candidate positioned to beat Trump in Iowa and beyond. We called out Nikki Haley when she sided with woke Disney back in April and we’re calling her out now because she’s wrong on refugees,” Never Back Down Communications Director Erin Perrine told The Post.
Nationally, DeSantis currently stands in second place with 12.8%, according to Real Clear Politics’ average, compared to Haley’s 7.4% and Trump’s 59.1 %.