‘Suck it up, buttercup!’ Miller-Meeks says of threats

IOWA CITY — U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, R-Ottumwa, stood on the bed of a bright-red truck and defended voting against Republican U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, the hard-right chair of the House Judiciary Committee, to be the next speaker of the U.S. House — a move she said spawned “credible death threats” against her.

Meanwhile, a slate of candidates seeking the Republican presidential nomination focused on national security and the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, the Gaza-based Palestinian militant group.

Miller-Meeks held her third annual “Triple MMM Tailgate” on Friday evening in Iowa City. The event featured seven candidates seeking the Republican presidential nomination in 2024.

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Miller-Meeks, who voted for Jordan on the first ballot Tuesday but subsequently voted against him, cast her vote Friday for Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry of North Carolina.

Miller-Meeks reported she received death threats Wednesday after voting against Jordan, and other anti-Jordan House Republicans also reported death threats and threatening calls.

“I am never going to quit fighting for Iowa, and I am never going to quit fighting for this country," Miller-Meeks said to a crowd of hundreds of supporters. "So if you think you can intimidate me, go … suck it up, buttercup!"

Miller-Meeks defended her vote and voting record, including voting against an agriculture appropriations bill because it cut vital supports for Iowa farmers, including to U.S. Department of Agriculture programs that support rural broadband development and funding for foreign animal disease preparedness.

She said she did not support shutting down the government because she didn’t want veterans’ pay to be stopped.

Seven presidential candidates followed her speech, asking Iowans for their support in the GOP caucuses on Jan. 15. Here’s what they had to say.

Ron DeSantis

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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis repeated his calls to deny Palestinian refugees entry into the United States, and criticized students protesting Israel’s actions in response to the attacks, calling them Hamas supporters. He vowed to revoke student visas and deport foreign nationals who support Hamas.

“We are not going to allow the left-wing in this country to have hundreds of thousands of Gaza strip refugees deposited in the United States of America,” DeSantis said. “That is not our role. We don’t want to import the pathologies of the Middle East here. The Arab countries should handle any refugees that are needed in that region.”

DeSantis called for a renewed effort to strengthen national security by creating stricter policies at the southern border, including authorizing the use of deadly force on Mexican drug cartels.

Vivek Ramaswamy

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Vivek Ramaswamy, a biotech entrepreneur, complimented DeSantis for his decision to charter emergency flights from Israel to assist U.S. citizens fleeing the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Ramaswamy said he “respects” the Florida governor’s choice to arrange those flights, and said he and his wife have made a similar choice to charter a flight through their charitable organization, evacuating 200 Americans from Israel.

While he condemned the actions of Hamas as “barbaric” and “morally wrong,” he cautioned Israel against an “ongoing, potentially imminent ground invasion of Gaza” in order to prevent what he sees as mistakes made following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorists attacks in the United States.

He said the United States spent more than $6 trillion on military expenditures following the Sept. 11 terrorists attacks, only to see the Taliban retake control of Afghanistan and an “anti-American regime in Iraq that is now vulnerable to Iranian incursion.” He said Americans were told to “shut up, sit down, go along” following Sept. 11 — and called for Israel to not make the same mistakes.

“Some people will ask, ‘is that anti-Israel?’ No, no, no,” Ramaswamy said. “This is the most pro-Israel thing we can do, as a friend, to say, ‘learn the lessons from the mistakes we made 20 years ago in this country,’ to make sure that we — together — don’t repeat them again.”

Nikki Haley

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Former United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley, who held a town hall in Cedar Rapids Friday afternoon before heading to the Miller-Meeks fundraiser, emphasized her foreign policy credentials.

In the wake of the surprise attack by Hamas on Israel, Haley called on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to “finish” the Palestinian militant group.

Haley told the crowd, both in Cedar Rapids and Iowa City, the United States needs to pursue three goals when it comes to the Middle Eastern conflict.

“Support Israel with whatever they need whenever they need it,” Haley said. “Eliminate Hamas, not weaken them — eliminate Hamas. And do everything we can to bring our hostages home.”

Haley celebrated the announcement Friday that Hamas had released two Americans who had been held hostage in Gaza. It’s the first such release from among the roughly 200 people the militant group abducted.

“Two prayers were answered,” Haley said, but said President Joe Biden should not give the Hamas any leniency for the release of the American hostages.

Haley said the United States needs to do more to support Israel, by providing military aid as well as pulling government funding from universities with students and staff who hold protests in support of Palestinians.

Haley criticized Biden’s approach to the withdrawal from Afghanistan and a recent prisoner exchange deal with Iran, saying they have emboldened America’s adversaries.

Ryan Binkley

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Texas pastor Ryan Binkley said the national debt threatens future generations, and that Republicans need to update messaging to represent the changing country and be more involved in discussions on health care and education.

“I think the Republican Party has kind of lost our way,” Binkley said. “I think we all recognize that we are in a broken place. Not only can we not elect a speaker of the House, our party is divided. We are so much broken in our messaging and what we represent, and I really believe this: We have to remember are the party of financial stewardship.”

Binkley touted his seven-year plan to balance the budget and begin paying down America's debt. The plan focuses on reducing nondefense discretionary spending; preventing waste, fraud and abuse; and saving Social Security.

Tim Scott

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South Carolina U.S. Sen. Tim Scott denounced Biden’s response to the Israeli-Hamas conflict and called for an urgent response to aid Israel, stating he hopes the response “comes with some Israeli-American hardware.”

Scott described protests happening across the country against Israel’s response in Gaza as antisemitic. And vowed, if elected, he would sign into law legislation he introduced to revoke federal student aid to colleges or university that say “it’s OK to spread terrorism on our campuses.”

The senator’s proposal came after some students and professors at colleges including Harvard and Columbia University released statements supporting Palestinians and condemning Israel’s actions against the population.

"Let's condemn Americans for their hate-filled response," Scott said.

Doug Burgum

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North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum said there were major domestic issues impacting national security that are overlooked. “We can’t have national security without food security, energy security and border security,” he said.

Earlier in the day, during an interview on Iowa PBS “Iowa Press,” Burgum said he believed the president could play an important role in resolving the internal disputes among U.S. House Republicans in nominating a speaker.

“You know who loves the fact that the Republicans can’t get their act together and lead? The Democrats,” Burgum said. “ … They love what we’re doing, because this is all helping them in 2024. And we don’t have either side that’s actually working to try to solve the issues for the American people.”

Asa Hutchinson

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Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson said he is the only candidate with a law enforcement background, having worked as a federal prosecutor and with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency — giving him credence to take on border security and the fentanyl crisis. In 2003, then-President George W. Bush appointed Hutchinson as the undersecretary for border and transportation security at the newly established Department of Homeland Security.

While at the department, Hutchinson led an effort to reform border inspections through the use of biometric technology and continued to oversee the reorganization of border agencies into a unified inspection force.

“Now, you can look at what I did, and you’ll say, well, you didn’t get it perfect,” Hutchinson said. “But it looks perfect compared to what Joe Biden has done.”

Hutchinson his experience serving under Bush following the Sept. 11 attacks will help him aid Israel in its war against Hamas. He criticized Ramaswamy’s comments on the conflict, saying that “this is not a time of ambiguity.”

What voters had to say

Bill Montag, 50, of Coralville, said he remains undecided as to who he will support in the caucuses, but was impressed with both DeSantis and Haley. He said he values Haley’s foreign policy experience and DeSantis’ views on border and national security.

“The attacks on Israel were a disgrace, and I agree with everyone that Hamas needs to be removed from Earth. They need to be taken out,” Montag said. “It doesn’t mean that all the Palestinians are bad, obviously. But it’s hard for us to give aid directly to Gaza (because) it’s essentially giving aid to Hamas, as much as the Palestinian people need it. … I think we have to stand with Israel.”

He said he’s also looking for a fiscal conservative who has a plan to cut federal spending and balance the budget.

Dawn Coffman, 69, of Williamsburg, who attended Haley’s town hall in Cedar Rapids, said she, too, is weighing whether to caucus for DeSantis or Haley.

“I was totally sold on DeSantis before, but then I’ve listened to (Haley’s) position” on the Israel-Hamas conflict. “ … She’s a little bit more aggressive and outspoken, and I like that.”

Asked about former President Donald Trump, the current Republican front-runner who did not attend Friday’s tailgate, Coffman said she feels Trump is too polarizing to win in the general election and beat Biden.

“I think he bring a lot of baggage,” she said. “I think he got a lot of things done (as president), but I don’t think he’ll get anything done if he’s president again. I think he’ll be tied up” in legal entanglements.

She said she feels now is the opportune time for DeSantis and Haley to break out from the rest of the pack and put a dent in Trump’s support. Of the two, she said she likes Haley’s hawkish foreign policy.

“I don’t want her to back down.”

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