A swath of 2024 Republican candidates is expected to converge in Washington on Oct. 2 and 3 at Georgetown University. The university’s Institute of Politics and Public Service is teaming up with the Associated Press for a forum on national security and foreign policy.
The event is set for Gaston Hall, on the Georgetown campus, at 37th & O Streets, NW, Washington, D.C., 20057. Associated Press journalists will moderate and “offer young voters the opportunity to ask the candidates about issues of national and global importance,” per a release by the university and the news organization.
There’s much to discuss on the foreign policy front as Republican candidates seek their party’s 2024 nomination and the right to challenge Democratic President Joe Biden. And the leading Republican candidate, former President Donald Trump, already has an established foreign policy record.
Trump, in his 2016 presidential campaign and presidency (2017–2021), emphasized an “America First” approach to international affairs, including the United States’s withdrawal from international treaties and organizations. Overall, Trump’s presidency marked a profound departure from U.S. leadership in areas such as trade and diplomacy, as well as an across-the-board toughening of immigration policies.
Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) has taken up this mantle to a degree, touting policies that reflect traditional Republican internationalist orthodoxy and MAGA-style populism. For instance, DeSantis has questioned whether the U.S. should continue to back Ukraine with billions of dollars of military equipment and aid to counter Russia’s 2022 invasion.
Another Trump 2024 GOP rival, biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, is echoing the former president’s international noninterference doctrine and, in some cases, taking it further. Ramaswamy is promoting an isolationist foreign policy that would effectively have Ukraine capitulate in its war of defense against Russia by ceding major chunks of its sovereign territory.
Ramaswamy also has supporters of Israel concerned over calls to phase out aid to the Middle East’s only democracy and a staunch ally of the U.S. in a troublesome region. Ramaswamy has drawn criticism from GOP presidential opponents more in the party’s “peace through strength” tradition, espoused by the late President Ronald Reagan in the latter years of the Cold War, which ended in the Soviet Union’s 1991 collapse. Former Vice President Mike Pence has been vocal on the need for an internationalist foreign policy. So has former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who recently visited Ukraine to show solidarity with its citizens in the face of Russian aggression.
Ramaswamy tussled with Pence over foreign policy at the Aug. 23 Republican debate in Milwaukee. The 38-year-old also clashed with Nikki Haley, South Carolina’s governor from 2011-2017, who went on to be the Trump administration’s U.S. ambassador to the United Nations for nearly two years.
At Turtle Bay, Haley proved an ardent U.S. defender of Israel, as the Jewish state faced international criticism over defensive measures against rocket attack barrages from Gaza and other Palestinian terrorist attacks. Haley, in public and private settings, frequently laid bare hypocrisy in Israel’s condemnation, countering that the country acted as any other nation would in protecting its citizens from unprovoked attacks.
As a presidential candidate, Haley is pushing back against Ramaswamy in a similar way.
“@VivekGRamaswamy’s attacks & desperate attempts at damage control don’t change how he treats our friend Israel & how his dangerous policies make America less safe,” Haley wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, on Aug. 29. “Israel faces genocidal threats from Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran, & Syria. Our next president must understand that. Vivek said we should abandon Israel after 2028. Those are HIS words.”
The Georgetown/Associated Press foreign policy forum offers other Republican candidates who have been less vocal on foreign affairs, with more emphasis on domestic matters, to share their views on international affairs. These candidates include Gov. Doug Burgum (R-ND), former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, and Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC).
Many presidential candidate events at state and local GOP gatherings
With summer nearly over, Republican presidential campaigns are increasingly focusing on spending time in states holding early-voting events. Specifically, the Jan. 15 Iowa caucuses, the Feb. 8 Nevada caucuses, and the Feb. 24 South Carolina primary. New Hampshire, which, under state law, has to hold the nation’s first primaries, hasn’t set a date for Republicans (or Democrats) to vote. It’s expected to come after the caucuses in Iowa and before the ones in Nevada.
Here are events with confirmed presidential candidates, along with events with a strong chance of drawing White House hopefuls — many of whom likely won’t confirm attendance until a day or two prior.
IOWA
Sept. 15 (Friday)
Meet and Greet with Nikki Haley
Crystal Creek Enterprises
2260 Highway 30
Grand Mound, IA, 52751
4 p.m. Central time
Sept. 16 (Saturday)
Iowa Faith & Freedom 23rd Fall Banquet
Iowa Events Center
730 3rd Street
Des Moines, IA, 50309
3:30-9 p.m. Central time
Confirmed Speakers: DeSantis, Haley, Ramaswamy, Pence, and Scott.
NEVADA
Sept. 23 (Saturday)
Nevada Republican Central Committee — Fall Meeting
50 W Winnemucca Blvd.
Winnemucca, NV, 89445
7 a.m.-5 p.m. Pacific time
Brews & Views with the Republican Women of Las Vegas
Aroma Barista Bar
300 W Sahara Ave.
Las Vegas, NV, 89102
9:30-10:30 a.m. Pacific time
Sept. 26 (Tuesday)
Southern Hills Republican Women Meeting
2505 Anthem Village Drive, Suite E-223
Henderson, NV, 89052
11 a.m.-1 p.m. Pacific time
Sept. 27 (Wednesday)
Mt. Rose Republican Women Meeting
1310 S Virginia Street
Reno, NV 89511
5-8 p.m. Pacific time
Sept. 28 (Thursday)
Spring Mountain Republican Women
Suncoast Hotel and Casino
Second Floor Banquet Room
9090 Alta Drive
Las Vegas, NV, 89135
11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Pacific time
Carson City Republican Central Committee Meeting
Casino Fandango
3800 South Carson Street
Carson City, NV, 89701
6:30-8:30 p.m. Pacific time
NEW HAMPSHIRE
Sept. 15 (Friday)
Strafford County Republicans 3rd Annual Liberty Cruise, aboard the M/V Thomas Laighton
Isles of Shoals Steamship Company
315 Market Street
Portsmouth, NH, 03801
6:30 p.m. Eastern time
Sept. 23 (Saturday)
Granite Solutions 2023 Summit
New Hampshire Institute of Politics
100 Saint Anselm Drive
Manchester, NH, 03102
10 a.m.-4 p.m. Eastern time
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SOUTH CAROLINA
Sept. 21 (Thursday)
Greater Lowcountry Republican Club Inaugural Golf Classic
4812 Stono Links Drive
Hollywood, SC, 29449
8 a.m.-3 p.m. Eastern time
Sept. 23 (Saturday)
Greenville County Republican Party Freedom Caucus Goes to Rodeo
2505 Wade Hampton Blvd.
Greenville, SC, 29644
5:30-11 p.m. Eastern time
