Republican voters’ hatred for foreign aid and love for Israel collided on Saturday night, as Rick Perry said he’d zero out all international aid but then clarified later that Israel would probably get the money back.
“The foreign aid budget in my administration, for every country, is going to start at zero dollars,” Perry said, adding that countries would then have to make their case on an individual annual basis for continued support.
But Perry’s answered raised the obvious question: would it apply to Israel, the top recipient of foreign aid and the most beloved non-American nation in the world for the GOP base?
As it turned out, Perry was asked exactly that when CBS plucked the question from a Twitter user as a follow-up. And he stood by his guns even as he acknowledged Israel would probably be a pretty strong contender to get its money back.
“Obviously, Israel is a special ally, and my bet is that we would be funding them at some substantial level,” he said. “But it makes sense for everyone to come in at zero and make your case.”
His campaign followed up with a lengthy e-mailed statement touting Perry’s broad support for Israel’s security.
Rival Mitt Romney also raised the “zero-funding” idea, saying it should be applied to Pakistan to compel the government to crack down on terrorism.
