>> welcome to the journal editorial report. israeli troops pushing to gaza, attention turning to what will happen after hamas, benjamin netanyahu saying israel will likely retain security control of gaza indefinitely. the biden administered and expressed its opposition to a reoccupation of the palestinian enclave. here's john kirby on wednesday. >> it is plausible israeli defense forces are going to be in gaza to manage the aftermath and security situation. nothing has changed about our view that it shouldn't be the long-term solution, should be about idea preoccupation of gaza as a long-term governance solution. paul: let's bring in the chief executive of the foundation for defense, good to see you again. is this really a dispute over gaza? doesn't seem to me it is. in the sense that someone has to have security control. in the aftermath of the war, it has to be israel. >> it has to be is real, the israelis will never give back security control. security control in the west bank and authority when hamas failed miserably which is why the past two years israeli troops are trying to neutralize terrorists who have been attacking israelis. the idea the palestinian authority has to protect israeli lives after october 7th is regional. paul: that's not the same as fully occupying get. it is providing security as they do on the west bank. as you say, every night. but israel does not want to reoccupy gaza. >> in the west bank the majority of the west bank is governed by the palestinian authority. they have civilian authority. this area of the west bank with civilian and security authority. what it looks like in gaza is area being west bank which is israelis with security control and palestinian authority with civilian control. israelis can learn from in the united states should learn from. paul: for question, is the palestinian authority strong enough to be able to control gaza and prevent with israeli help a rise of another hamas as a terrorist group? >> the short answer is absolutely not. mock mood a boss is hated - --mahmoud abbas is hated. i assume it will be under a new leadership. that states that they have to think about who comes next. grade alternatives of people very trusted, not corrupt or have authority to rule over a new gaza. paul: the administration pushing again quite vocally for the two state solution in that region but every thing i see in the israeli public suggests to me that if that's going to be a reality it will be a long time, in which the israeli people again feel secure in their homes otherwise it won't happen. >> the israeli public tried this many times. the israelis withdrew from gaza. they returned from southern lebanon and hezbollahland, withdrew from the west bank and now terrorist attacks inspired by iran and islamic jihad against israeli civilians. it has failed and now they are asking us to do it again, october 7, 1400, of our people, you've got to stop with two state solution ideas and come up with something serious about serious security control, none of it will happen until the islamic republic and iran is in the dustbin of history because they will never allow a two state solution and if you on these terrorist proxies to kill and every time. paul: clearly the us does believe iran is helping hamas, fermenting on the west bank. why won't the us change its policy towards iran to cut off the flow of money, to enforce orioles sanctions. when you engage with the administration what answer do you get to those questions? >> the fundamental problem was similar to the obama administration, the demonstration of american power, to escalate so that they are afraid of escalation so they are afraid of devastating american power, and threatening american power because iran will escalate and many of us think the opposite and history of the islamic republic's first forum when an american president demonstrates the ability to use military force and other tools of american power the iranians backed down because they fear nothing more than the end of the regime. the only power that could bring down the regime is the united states of america so it is almost like a theological debate about the existence of god in the administration. you amass their evidence and at the end of the day you walk out of the white house frustrated because they are not willing to fundamentally change the iran policy. paul: thank you. incisive as always. still had five republican president a locals square off in miami as the debate rages over aid to israel and ukraine. the panel on the emerging republican fault line on foreign policy next. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ they say seeing is believing, but with stearns & foster, that's only part of the story. we handcraft every stearns & foster using the finest materials, like indulgent memory foam, and ultra-conforming intellicoils, for a beautiful mattress and indescribable comfort every single night. stearns & foster. what comfort should be. for a limited time, bring home incredible comfort with savings up to $800 on select adjustable mattress sets. learn more at stearnsandfoster.com. 10% can make all the difference in the world. it's the difference between everyday and days unlike any other. 10% is the difference between just another moment and a memory that lasts forever. 10% can turn anywhere into your arena, and stories into legends. but now, with 10% below msrp on select 2023 jeep vehicles, 10% doesn't just make all the difference in the world, it lets you see it too. paul: five republican president will hopefuls faced off in miami for the third primary debate, the first since the start of the israel/hamas war. foreign policy took center stage as the candidates when on us aid for israel and ukraine. >> $105 billion, 60, most of that is ukraine including some of it paying pensions for bureaucrats and salaries, that's a totally ridiculous use of american tax dollars. we need to bring this war to a end. we need the europeans to step up and do their fair share. >> here's a freedom loving pro-american country fighting for its survival and its democracy. now everybody wants to move away from ukraine, they want to move away from israel year from now. america can never be so arrogant to think we don't need friends. >> let's bring our panel, and editorial board member. nikki haley got the best of that foreign policy debate. why? >> we are seeing a fault line develop across these candidates. on the left, you have vivek ramaswamy with an isolationist view, complete retreat from the us, and tim scott who equivocated on the stage, not committing themselves to ukraine or divorcing themselves but nikki haley and when extent chris christie, who put out a peace through strength foreign policy approach, showing leadership in a party that is more fractured on this question but they got the best of that. paul: let's turn to ron desantis, he didn't say he wouldn't support ukraine, just didn't commit to supporting ukraine and wants to have it both ways. >> it is exemplary the way desantis conducted himself, it is clear he thinks part of the republican primary base as opposed to the war and wants to signal to them that he would put pressure to end the conflict as soon as possible and not commit too many resources to it but he knows in the very beginning of the campaign he came out and dismissed it as a territorial dispute. he got back lash from donors who are more in favor of active foreign policy and a lot of other republican officials in favor of it. he is trying to tow the line down the middle, not take positions that will draw the ire of the more hawkish foreign policy wing of the party but also to see if he can eat into the trump vote so he is showing lack of principle by trying to charter middle-of-the-road course that doesn't show how to handle the situation if elected president. paul: imagine if you are president desantis, you don't want russia to be in control of it. >> desantis does this because trump voters the, they don't want this, he's trying -- always hedging a simple yes or no, he should learn from nikki haley, the fourth right answer whether you agree with him or not. ron desantis being ron desantis, he is forthright and persuasive but in trump territory, he worries about what trump voters will make of it, he starts to sound insincere. paul: we have an exchange on social security. >> if we raise the retirement age for folks in the 30s and 40s, i have a son in the audience whose 30 years old, if he can't adjust to a a to a f year increase in social security retirement age over the next four years i've got bigger problems with him than his social security payments. we have to talk about the retirement age as something that changed in the last 4 years. life expectancy in the united states is declining. >> would you raise the retirement age? >> when life expectancy is declining i don't see how you could raise it the other direction. paul: if we are not willing to raise the retirement age it will be impossible to make progress to fix social security. >> the republican party is focused on spending and spending reform and everyone understands you cannot do that in any consequence unless you touch entitlements. we had a division of there on the stage, nikki haley and chris christie talking about raising the retirement age perhaps letting benefits for wealthy americans, not something i agree with but that was their plan for how to fix this and the other three guys including ron desantis who when pushed, to making structural changes with economic growth. vivek ramaswamy talked about the military and it had to be changed and reformed. the next republican leader, it is right to ask what is their plan. paul: trump doesn't want to touch this. after this debate, donald trump still leading in the polls. how soon is this going to consolidate, do you see that happening soon? >> there's not much hope of that. i do think some of the candidates who aren't performing so well in the early polls, a guy in new hampshire, probably do know that the last chance of someone other than trump gaining the nomination would come from them dropping out to allowing nikki haley and ron desantis to rise to the top of the field but i'm not optimistic about chris christie or tim scott getting that message. there donors could help by imposing discipline saying we won't fund you to go through this and we don't see the path but it isn't clear they see the urgency in doing that. there's a lot of crime involved, to make the first context. paul: when we come back, republicans fall short at the ballot box as the issue of abortion take center stage once again. our panel on the lessons from tuesday's vote next. is 12-hour cough relief. and the giggles. the family that takes delsym together, feels better together. right now get a free footlong at subway. like the new deli heroes. buy one footlong in the app, get one free. it's a pretty big deal. kinda like me. order in the subway app today. 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(gentle music) >> what voters said yesterday across the board's virginia is a purple state. one thing we know is abortion is a difficult topic, there's a place to come together around a reasonable limit. paul: that's glenn youngerkin after republicans failed to control the senate and lost control of the delegates in tuesday's closely watched elections. abortion played a pivotal role in gop losses not only in virginia but ohio, kentucky and pennsylvania. we are back with kim strawser and kate, you covered the virginia elections. this is perceived as a defeat for republicans. wasn't as bad as advertised? was it as bad as advertised? looks like it actually was pretty close. >> governor youngerkin invest a lot of political capital in these races, endorsed primary candidates who campaigned across the street and raise the profile on these issues and one reason democrats are relieved he didn't succeed was they were nervous about our governor with high 50s approval rating with independents but it was a close run thing and worth looking at closely. in the state senate republicans added a seat for a 2119 majority and it came close in manassas. on the house side, 51-49 democratic majority and republicans lost around fredericksburg where abortion was a major issue but these, this was a close run thing. paul: what does this say about youngkin's brand of republican politics, possibly succeed in a state that has been trending democratic? >> it is hard for him. unlike desantis, who lost some elections and went back and fought school boards and local elections and changed the complexion of florida, glenn youngkin has done it in virginia. the national issue, the whole media is on the other side. i feel sorry for these republicans because they are up against the whole media, not just democrats. president biden has taken the message as a lot of democrats that the way to win and overcome all other weaknesses is say you are amaga extremist and want to ban abortion and that's the civil message to take and he has the method. paul: let's talk about that abortion issue. it really hurt republicans and the evidence is undeniable, played some role in the virginia race even though youngkin is over 15 weeks but it played in ohio where they put in a constitutional amendment to the state constitution that is more liberal on abortion than roe versus wade was, factored in a supreme court case in pennsylvania and the kentucky governorship as well. what do republicans have to do to get on the better side of this abortion debate? >> this is the latest lesson for republicans that this is going to be an anchor for them going into these races. president biden in the democrats used it successfully in 2022 and any number of special elections since then and this referendum. we have a national debate you saw on the primary debate stage about do you have a federal limit, state limit, what is the week you have a cut off in those things. that is important but if you look for instance at nikki haley on that stage, one thing republicans need to take from this is tone. i liked the fact that she talking about how we need to find consensus on this issue. this needs to be brought around to issues people can agree on because there's a lot of consensus in this country. glenn youngkin did a great job and the fact this was as competitive as it was, he recognized his state is more blue. they settled on a 15 week ban and certainly have different tone and language talking about this that i think is behind why republicans were as competitive as they were in a state president biden won by 10 points. paul: a lot of pro-life forces thought the 15 week limit which after all most abortions are before the 15 week, but it really does legalize most abortions. they thought that would neutralize the issue but democrat still came in saying ban ban ban ban ban. did the 15 week mitigate some of the losses? >> i think it did. youngkin tried to associate his 15 week limit with candidates who are credit will talking about the issue. marketable talking about the issue. one of the republicans who lost was an ob/gyn talking about her experience delivering premature infants informed her support for a 15 week limitation with exceptions on abortion. what happened, an example of what happened was in northern county, what republicans needed to win to take control of the senate, the prosecutor ran a campaign on abortion suggesting all abortions across the south were in danger. it didn't matter how sensible republicans were, democrats exploited the issue. paul: growing concern among democrats over president biden's standing a year out from the 2,024 election as his support for israel angers key parts of his democratic base. . all that planning has paid off. looks like you can make this work. we can make this work. and the feeling of confidence that comes from our advice? i can make this work. that seems to be universal. i can make this work. i can make this work. no wonder more than 9 out of 10 clients are likely to recommend us. because advice worth listening to is advice worth talking about. ameriprise financial. somedays, i cover up because of my moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. now i feel free to bare my skin, thanks to skyrizi. ♪(uplifting music)♪ ♪nothing is everything♪ i'm celebrating my clearer skin... my way. with skyrizi, 3 out of 4 people achieved 90% clearer skin at 4 months. in another study, most people had 90% clearer skin, even at 5 years. and skyrizi is just 4 doses a year, after 2 starter doses. serious allergic reactions and an increased risk of infections or a lower ability to fight them may occur. tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms, had a vaccine, or plan to. thanks to clearer skin with skyrizi - this is my moment. there's nothing on my skin and that means everything! ♪nothing is everything♪ now's the time. ask your doctor about skyrizi, the #1 dermatologist-prescribed biologic in psoriasis. learn how abbvie could help you save. paul: there are fresh warning signs for president biden, there's a deep divide in his party, half of democrats disapprove of how he is handling the israel/hamas war, that on the heels of a new emerson college survey losing in 5 string states. that's a second poll this week to find biden trailing and key battlegrounds that determine the outcome of the 2024 presidential race. let's bring in doug shoen. the divide is pretty deep and passionate. how much of threat does this post the biden coalition. >> and we see it with the progressive wing, and the 50% over, they are very much supportive of his real. as the death count rises, and they cease-fire increase, and it will hurt president biden more and more if it is not resolved which we hope and pray will happen. paul: what the whole thing be over. you wrote this we can a piece in the new york post that you thought the democrats have to take on the far left even those in congress. what do you explain about that? >> the squad, 8 or 9 representatives who were elected after alexandria ocasio cortez, avowedly anti-israel, pro-palestinian, pro-hamas in rhetoric, representative rashida tlaib supporting the notion of genocide. paul: biden is supporting genocide. >> saying the palestinian cause from the river to the sea is something to be embraced is calling for elimination of is real, to support the most extreme version of the palestinian movement. i think president biden and the democrats leadership has to completely disavow the squad and say they don't represent anything we as americans or we as democrats have historically or now believe. paul: does that run the risk you will take this chunk