One of the better-polling Republican presidential candidates said on Monday that withdrawing the U.S. from NATO was a “reasonable idea” and that he was “reevaluating” whether America should remain a member of the United Nations.

POLITICO asked Vivek Ramaswamy, the entrepreneur polling fourth nationally and in Iowa, about a Rolling Stone article detailing how the GOP frontrunner, former President Donald Trump, was open to taking the U.S. out of the transatlantic military alliance. He answered by supporting the notion, but didn’t commit to following through if he were elected president.

“It’s a reasonable idea that I have considered,” he said in a brief statement.

Ramaswamy didn’t detail, even after questioning, why he was amenable to a NATO withdrawal. Unsolicited, the candidate added that “I am also open to reevaluating U.S. involvement in the UN” without expounding further, even after more queries on the subject.

Still, the statement makes clear that Ramaswamy is mulling a radical shift in U.S. foreign policy, one that would see the United States withdraw from alliances and institutions it helped found after World War II. Ramaswamy’s stance means at least two of the top four Republicans vying for the nomination are skeptical that remaining in such organizations is beneficial for America’s foreign policy goals.

If the U.S. were no longer in NATO, it would lose a commitment from 30 other allies to defend it if attacked. The only time NATO’s Article 5 was invoked was after the terrorist attacks of 9/11. And leaving the United Nations would mean a loss of America’s veto power on the Security Council, possibly giving China and Russia, two of the five nations with that privilege, more influence in the world body.

Ramaswamy is resistant to further entangling the U.S. abroad and has called for a weakening of America’s commitments to Ukraine and Israel, urging lawmakers to vote “no” on President Joe Biden’s $106 billion aid package, which would boost both countries’ defenses. He told POLITICO on Saturday that the U.S. military aid for Israel’s fight against Hamas should be “contingent” on Israel’s having a detailed plan for what comes after a ground invasion of Gaza.

Ramaswamy, however, isn’t looking for a complete removal of the United States from world affairs. He has promoted military strikes on Mexican drug cartels to curb the spread of fentanyl, and has warned other countries, namely China, that if they wade deeper into the Western Hemisphere, they will “have hell to pay.”

His comments on NATO and the United States are likely to earn him more pushback from U.S. foreign policy traditionalists in both parties. Nikki Haley, the former ambassador to the U.N. and a rival for the GOP presidential nomination, has been a staunch Ramaswamy critic, calling him a foreign policy novice partly over his stances on Israel.

Ramaswamy and Haley are two of three candidates to qualify for the next GOP presidential debate in November. The other, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, will join them. Trump, who did not show up for the first debates, is unlikely to appear.

Teams are listed by their section seeds.

CLASS 4A

No. 5 Como Park (4-4) at No. 4 Johnson (5-3), 3:30 p.m.

Johnson’s young nucleus of weapons gets a taste of postseason action by hosting an intracity rival. Como Park enters the contest as a winner of four of its previous five games, but can the Cougars slow the Governors’ offense down? Our pick: Johnson 30, Como Park 21

No. 6 South St. Paul (3-5) at No. 3 Simley (5-3), 6 p.m.

The Spartans are the heavy favorites, but it’s never an easy task to take down your fierce rival twice in a season. Simley beat South St. Paul 35-12 in late September. The Spartans can’t look ahead to a potential showdown with second-seeded Chisago Lakes in a semifinal. Our pick: Simley 27, South St. Paul 14

CLASS 5A

Hastings (2-6) at Two Rivers (7-1), 7 p.m.

Hastings beat Two Rivers 9-7 in the early stages of the season, a major data point that likely prevented Two Rivers from garnering a higher seed.

Since then, the Warriors have flourished. They finished with the No. 5 Quality Ratings Formula score among all Class 5A teams by Minnesota Scores.

The winner of this game will meet St. Thomas Academy in the section semis. A Warriors-Cadets matchup would be highly anticipated. But Hastings has already shown it’s capable of tearing those plans apart. Our pick: Two Rivers 21, Hastings 10

No. 5 Tartan (2-6) at No. 4 Highland Park (3-5), 7 p.m.

Tartan bested Highland Park 6-0 back in Week 2, yet the Scots still got the nod for home field in this one. A similarly low-scoring contest could play out in this one given the general lack of offensive production between these two this season. Points should be at a premium. Our pick: Tartan 13, Highland Park 7

In a solemn reminder of the lives still in peril, the Boston Common was lined Monday night with the fliers of Israelis kidnapped by Hamas terrorists Oct. 7.

Boston, MA – October 23, 2023:Examples of the display on the common showing victims of the assault on Israel. (Chris Christo/Boston Herald)
Boston, MA – October 23, 2023:Examples of the display on the common showing victims of the assault on Israel. (Chris Christo/Boston Herald)
Boston, MA – October 23, 2023: People take in the display on the common showing victims of the assault on Israel. (Chris Christo/Boston Herald)

The postseason fate of Bishop Fenwick’s student athletes is now up to Essex Superior Court Judge Janice Howe.

On Monday, Howe presided over an emergency hearing as Bishop Fenwick pursues an injunction against the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association’s ruling that the school is barred from participating in any postseason activities for the 2023-24 academic year. The MIAA enforced the punishment due to what it deemed Bishop Fenwick’s negligence in allowing ineligible student-athletes to participate and ensuing lack of accountability.

Bishop Fenwick allegedly used varsity baseball players whose fifth-year waiver applications contained misinformation and also used St. Mary’s middle school as a feeder system for its varsity teams.

While as of Monday evening Howe was yet to pass judgment, one is expected in short order. The timing is crucial as the MIAA fall state tournament will be underway across all sports within two weeks. Until this time the MIAA has handled Bishop Fenwick like an out-of-state team as it pertains to the power rankings. They do not appear in any updated standings but count towards an opponent’s team’s rankings. If the court were to rule in Bishop Fenwick’s favor, this would change, potentially altering the postseason fortunes for numerous teams.

Bishop Fenwick’s legal counsel took aim at its lack of participation with the inclusion of four girls volleyball players at Monday’s hearing.

Bishop Fenwick has made the case both in the lead-up to the hearings and Monday that the MIAA’s judgment is, “void for lack of due process.” The school has argued that the association’s ruling is inconsistent and arbitrary with regards to its past handling of similar situations. Its lawyer, Leo Fama, pointed to a 2012 situation with the Gardner swim team in which the MIAA originally prevented the school from participating in winter state tournaments for using ineligible players before ultimately changing its mind.

In the fall of 2021, Sutton’s girls soccer team was deemed to have used ineligible student-athletes midway through the state tournament but was allowed to keep playing as long as those student-athletes no longer took the field.

The MIAA, however, has stated on numerous occasions, including in affidavits submitted prior to Monday’s hearing, that Bishop Fenwick continues to lack accountability for its actions. MIAA executive director Bob Baldwin wrote that Bishop Fenwick attempted to distance itself from the varsity baseball player’s waiver process, “placing the blame solely on (the student-athlete) and his family and the-then athletic director.”