哈马斯的周末对以色列的突然袭击造成数百人死亡，并引发中东新的战争，也在美国引起了一系列政治反应
总统竞选者抓住这个问题，罢免了众议院议长凯文·麦卡锡试图与白宫形成对比拜登政府和华盛顿的大多数人一样，重申了对以色列的支持，因为一些示威活动也显示了左倾议员和一些共和党人之间的分歧说自己内讧是向耶路撒冷提供援助的障碍。
国会共和党成员和白宫候选人都抨击总统乔·拜登(Joe Biden)过去对以色列扩建定居点的批评，以色列总理本雅明·内塔尼亚胡(Benjamin Netanyahu)提出的有争议的司法改革计划等，此外，作为释放美国被拘留者协议的一部分，最近解冻了60亿美元的伊朗资产。
前总统唐纳德·特朗普(Donald Trump)周一在新罕布什尔州谈到拜登时说，“我无法想象任何犹太人或任何热爱以色列的人——坦率地说，福音派就是热爱以色列——我无法想象任何人会投票给民主党，更不用说这个人了，”新罕布什尔州是2024年提名竞争的提前投票州。
拜登与其他几位世界领导人发表了一份联合声明，以“表达我们对以色列国坚定和一致的支持，以及我们对哈马斯及其骇人听闻的恐怖主义行为的明确谴责。”
在另一份声明中，他分享了对“不可原谅的仇恨和暴力”的悲痛
南卡罗来纳州共和党参议员蒂姆·斯科特(Tim Scott)在美国有线电视新闻网(CNN)上敦促说，“我们应该准备好毫无疑问地向以色列提供资源”——在一次竞选活动中，他间接批评了2024年的竞争对手维韦克·拉马斯瓦米(Vivek Ramaswamy)此前提出的对以色列的财政援助不应无限期或像现在这样定期提供。拉马斯瓦米此后证明了他对以色列的支持。
佛罗里达州州长罗恩·德桑蒂斯(Ron DeSantis)是迄今为止共和党初选中的第二号候选人，他在自己的声明中说:“现在，美国必须立即做三件事:(I)冻结乔·拜登向伊朗提供的任何资金;㈡切断流向哈马斯的任何和所有类型的外国援助;(三)立即关闭美国的...以确保我们能够更好地保护国内的美国人免受这些真正的威胁。”
共和党全国委员会(Republican National Committee)的主席罗娜·麦克丹尼尔(Ronna McDaniel)表示，这场战斗标志着“我们的候选人有一个很好的机会”与拜登在这个问题上的政策形成对比，麦克丹尼尔对此进行了抨击。
白宫发言人安德鲁·贝茨在一份声明中说:“虽然显然有些人，如罗娜·麦克丹尼尔，认为这种生命损失和痛苦是一个‘伟大的机会’，但大多数美国人认为这是一场可怕的悲剧。”。
麦克丹尼尔周日在社交媒体上发表帖子说:“我的心与所有在这些可怕的恐怖主义行动中失去亲人的人同在。我们站在你和以色列一边。”
2023年10月8日，以色列军队在南部城市斯德洛特附近部署额外的部队时，乘坐他们的装甲运兵车穿过一条主干道。
MENA hem Kahana/法新社
另外，共和党人也在哀叹国会无法批准对以色列的更多援助，这主要是因为在一小批共和党议员离开众议院时，没有发言人，无法通过立法，因此该机构仍然处于瓶颈状态。
“当你看到像我们正在中东看到的那样的事件发生时，它表明了你为什么不在这种事情上玩政治，”纽约州共和党众议员迈克·劳勒(Mike Lawler)周一表示，他代表的是拜登在2020年以10个百分点的优势获胜的地区。
上周落选的议长麦卡锡(McCarthy)周二对记者表示，他认为应该采取什么措施来应对对以色列的袭击。
“现在是采取行动的时候了，”他说。“美国需要一个五点计划来迎接这一时刻，帮助我们的盟友以色列，并巩固我们自己的未来。”
美国广播公司新闻资深国会记者雷切尔·斯科特追问麦卡锡，它发出了什么信息，即众议院在危机中没有议长。
“这是不对的。这是错误的，”麦卡锡说，并补充道:“我们生活在非常危险的时代。这种琐碎必须停止。”
自周六袭击开始以来，美国举行了多次支持以色列和巴勒斯坦人的示威活动，有时会导致参与者之间发生争吵的报道。
纽约市的一次集会旨在“声援”巴勒斯坦人，但被纽约民主党州长凯西·霍楚尔谴责为“可恶和道德败坏”，因为该活动的批评者指出，组织者反对以色列的生存权。
其他民主党人加入了Hochul，如众议员里奇托雷斯。该党一些对以色列政府最直言不讳的批评者，包括密歇根州众议员拉希达·特拉伊布(Rashida Tlaib)，他是国会中的第一位巴勒斯坦人，在谴责暴力行为的同时，也支持巴勒斯坦平民。
“对于所有寻求以色列和巴勒斯坦持久和平和尊重人权的人来说，今天是毁灭性的一天，”纽约州众议员亚历山大·奥卡西奥·科尔特斯(Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez)在一份声明中说。
与此同时，2024年选举周期仍在继续，这引发了一个问题，即这一正在展开的外交政策问题可能会对选民产生多大影响。
哈马斯肆无忌惮的攻击和以色列预料中的激烈反应可能会将美国最亲密的盟友之一拖入一场旷日持久的冲突，这场冲突可能会在未来几个月内一直关注耶路撒冷和加沙。
“鉴于局势如此动荡和不稳定，我认为在这一点上很难猜测政治影响，”民主党民意测验专家和总统竞选老手马特·霍根说。
接受美国广播公司采访的共和党策略师也大多认为，这场冲突不会对明年的大选产生什么影响。
另一位总统竞选老手大卫·科切尔(David Kochel)表示，现在“判断”会产生什么影响还为时过早，但他表示，他还没有看到外交政策在“没有美国军队在场”的情况下影响总统大选。
“我不一定认为这将影响将军，但我肯定这将有助于双方更广泛的外交事务辩论，”一位在爱荷华州工作经验丰富的共和党策略师表示。
然而，共和党人对这场斗争是否会在共和党总统初选中升级感到左右为难，特别是在爱荷华州，福音派选民在那里拥有巨大的影响力。
“看起来这可能会变成一场关于孤立主义的更广泛的辩论，但爱荷华州的保守派压倒性地支持以色列。一位有在该州工作经验的战略家说:“参加党团会议的人会寻找他们支持以色列的首选候选人，所以我预计竞争者会在未来几周内绊倒自己成为最亲以色列的人——特别是在爱荷华州。”。
科切尔预测，鉴于前南卡罗莱纳州州长妮基·黑利在特朗普任联合国大使后的外交政策资历，她可能会得到选民的新看法。哈利主张美国大力参与海外事务。
“安全选举倾向于支持共和党。我认为这可以在初选中帮助尼基，”当被问及袭击及其后果会如何影响竞选时，罗布·斯图兹曼说。
Stutzman补充说，他认为这对特朗普没有帮助，“因为他没有表现出一个负责任的战时领导人。”
特朗普的竞选活动没有立即回应美国广播公司新闻频道的置评请求，但他仍然可以指出一系列吸引共和党人的举措，包括将美国大使馆从特拉维夫迁至耶路撒冷，以及在他执政期间在以色列和几个阿拉伯国家之间达成和平协议。
“我不认为以色列战争会改变很多人的想法，”爱荷华州一位颇具影响力的基督教保守派领袖鲍勃·范德·普拉茨(Bob Vander Plaats)说。"大多数候选人都坚定不移地支持我们与以色列的联盟。"
US politicians rally around Israel but swipe at each other over policy differences
Hamas'surprise attack on Israel over the weekend, which killed hundreds and triggered a new war in the Middle East, also drew a range of political reactions in the U.S.
Presidential contenders seized on the issue, deposed House Speaker Kevin McCarthysought to draw a contrast with the White Houseand the Biden administration -- like most of the rest of Washington -- reiterated support for Israel as some demonstrations also showed divisions among left-leaning lawmakers and some Republicanssaid their own infightingwas an obstacle to providing aid to Jerusalem.
GOP members of Congress and White House hopefuls alike tore into President Joe Biden for past criticism of Israel over settlement expansion, a controversial judicial overhaul plan by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and more, on top of a recent unfreezing of $6 billion in Iranian assets as part of a deal to free American detainees.
"I can't imagine how anybody who's Jewish or anybody who loves Israel -- and frankly, the evangelicals just love Israel -- I can't imagine anybody voting Democrat, let alone for this man," former President Donald Trump said of Biden on Monday while in New Hampshire, an early voting state in the 2024 nominating contest.
Biden, for his part, issued a joint statement with several other world leaders to "express our steadfast and united support to the State of Israel, and our unequivocal condemnation of Hamas and its appalling acts of terrorism."
In a separate statement, he shared his grief at the "inexcusable hatred and violence."
South Carolina Republican Sen. Tim Scott urged on CNN that "we should be prepared to send resources to Israel without any question" -- and in a campaign stop he indirectly criticized 2024 rival Vivek Ramaswamy for previously suggesting financial aid to Israel shouldn't be given indefinitely or as regularly as it is now. Ramaswamy has since attested to his support for Israel.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, the No. 2 candidate in the GOP primary so far, said in his own statement: "[R]ight now, America must immediately do three things: (i) freeze any money Joe Biden has made available to Iran; (ii) cut off any and all types of foreign aid flowing to Hamas; and (iii) immediately shut down America's ... southern border to ensure we are in a position to better protect Americans here at home from these real threats."
The Republican National Committee drew criticism of its own after its chair, Ronna McDaniel, said the fighting marked "a great opportunity for our candidates" to contrast with Biden's policies on the issue, which McDaniel lambasted.
"While apparently some individuals like Ronna McDaniel consider this loss of life and pain a 'great opportunity,' most Americans see it as a horrific tragedy," White House spokesman Andrew Bates said in a statement.
McDaniel said in a social media post on Sunday, "My heart goes out to all those who have lost loved ones in these horrific acts of terrorism. We stand with you and with Israel."
Separately, Republicans are also lamenting Congress' inability to approve more aid to Israel -- largely because the body remains bottlenecked after a small group of GOP lawmakers left the House without a speaker and unable to pass legislation.
"When you see events like what we are seeing unfold in the Middle East, it shows why you don't play politics with this stuff," Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., who represents a district Biden won by 10 points in 2020, said on Monday.
McCarthy, the speaker who was voted out last week, spoke with reporters on Tuesday about what he felt should be done to address the attack on Israel.
"Now is the time for action," he said. "America needs a five-point plan to meet this moment, to help our ally Israel and to strengthen our own future."
ABC News Senior Congressional Correspondent Rachel Scott pressed McCarthy about what message it sent that the House is without a speaker amid the crisis.
"It's wrong. It's wrong," McCarthy said, adding: "We are living in very dangerous times. The pettiness has got to stop."
Since the attack unfolded beginning on Saturday, a number of demonstrations in support of Israel and the Palestinians have been held in the U.S. -- sometimes leading to reports of altercations between attendees.
One rally in New York City, intended to be "in solidarity" with Palestinians, was denounced by New York's Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul as "abhorrent and morally repugnant" as critics of the event noted that organizers opposed the right of Israel to exist.
Other Democrats joined Hochul, like Rep. Ritchie Torres. Some of the party's most vocal critics of Israel's government, including Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, the first Palestinian in Congress, condemned the violence while also sharing support for Palestinian civilians.
"Today is devastating for all those seeking a lasting peace and respect for human rights in Israel and Palestine," Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., said in a statement.
All the while, the 2024 election cycle grinds on, raising the question of how much this unfolding foreign policy issue may influence voters.
The brazenness of Hamas' sprawling attack and the anticipatedly fierce response by Israel may draw one of the U.S.' closest allies into a protracted conflict that could keep eyes fixed on Jerusalem and Gaza for months to come.
"Given how volatile and fluid the situation is, I think it is very difficult to speculate about the political impact at this point," said Democratic pollster and presidential campaign veteran Matt Hogan.
GOP strategists who spoke to ABC News also mostly agreed that the conflict would do little to impact next year's general election.
David Kochel, another presidential campaign veteran, said it's "too early to tell" what the impact would be but said he hadn't seen foreign policy impact a presidential general election "without U.S. troops" on the ground.
"I don't necessarily think it will impact the general, but I'm sure it will play into the broader foreign affairs debate on both sides," said one GOP strategist with extensive experience working in Iowa.
Republicans were torn, however, over whether the fighting would play up in the GOP presidential primary, particularly in Iowa, where evangelical voters hold outsized sway.
"It's looking like it could turn into a broader debate about isolationism, but Iowa conservatives are overwhelmingly supportive of Israel. Caucusgoers will be looking for their preferred candidate to back Israel, so I'd expect contenders will be tripping over themselves to be the most pro-Israel in the coming weeks -- especially when in Iowa," said one strategist with experience working in the state.
Kochel predicted that former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley could get a fresh look from voters, given her foreign policy credentials after serving as U.N. ambassador under Trump. Haley advocates a muscular U.S. involvement abroad.
"Security elections tend to favor Republicans. I think it could help Nikki in the primary," Rob Stutzman said when asked how the attack and its aftermath could impact the race.
Stutzman added that he believes it would not help Trump "because he doesn't present as a responsible wartime leader."
Trump, whose campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment from ABC News, still could point to a string of moves that appeal to Republicans, including moving the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and forging peace deals between Israel and several Arab countries during his administration.
"I don't look for the war in Israel to change a lot of minds," said Bob Vander Plaats, an influential Christian conservative leader in Iowa. "Most candidates are rock-solid on our alliance with Israel."
