ATLANTA (AP) – The Republican outsiders have been getting a pass on their limited grasp of foreign policy in the presidential race. That may be ending.
Republicans favored Donald Trump even after he acknowledged not knowing the difference between Hamas and Hezbollah. And they didn’t fret over Ben Carson’s mistaken belief that the Chinese are involved in the Syrian conflict.
Yet Friday’s brutal attacks in Paris have sparked an urgent focus on national security that will test the appeal of the outsiders like nothing they’ve faced so far.
Their lack of governing experience has been an asset for much of the year as people rebelled against the establishment. Now it represents a question mark for Americans suddenly anxious about the nation’s security and the prospect of another war.