Yet pander is exactly what Trump did before an audience of several thousand members of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee who were gathered to hear presidential candidates speaking Monday inside the Verizon Center in downtown Washington, D.C.
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Donald Trump’s much-anticipated address to a leading pro-Israel lobbying group Monday evening was light on his trademark improvisation and full of standard rhetoric favoring the US ally. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, as well as Clinton’s Democratic rival, Sen.
“You’ll get a glimpse of a potential USA foreign policy that would insult our allies, not engage them, and embolden our adversaries, not defeat them”, Clinton said setting a hawkish tone.
The front-running Trump’s speech followed one by Clinton, Obama’s onetime secretary of state, in which she challenged Trump’s commitment to the U.S.-Israel alliance, particularly his recent call to be “neutral” in peace talks involving Israel. “Tonight will be an opportunity to explain that and hear him as they have the other candidates”.
Clinton and all three Republican presidential candidates, Trump, Cruz and Kasich, addressed AIPAC on Monday.
“We need steady hands – not a president who says he’s neutral on Monday, pro-Israel on Tuesday and who knows what on Wednesday because everything’s negotiable”, Clinton said, drawing loud cheers. “I have friends of mine that are tremendous businesspeople, that are really great negotiators, [and] they say it’s not doable”.
From Trump came reminders that daughter Ivanka converted to Judaism when she married into an Orthodox family, and he has been the grand marshal of a pro-Israel parade in NY.
This time around, he proclaimed Jerusalem Israel’s “eternal capital” and vowed to move the USA embassy there, which both Republican and Democratic presidents have refused to do. “If you see bigotry, oppose it, if you see violence, condemn it, if you see a bully, stand up to him”, she said, drawing attention to “dark chapters” in the USA past.
For once, Donald Trump sounded like a pretty typical politician. “Iran is the biggest sponsor of terrorism around the world and we will work to dismantle that reach, believe me, believe me”. He said that instead of renegotiating the Iran deal – as Trump has suggested – he’d rip it to shreds during his “first day in office”. But leaders like Mr Romney and Mr Herbert have consolidated around Mr Cruz because he is seen as the only one who can catch up Mr Trump’s delegate lead.
In her speech, Clinton criticized Trump for the tone of his campaign.
During the interview, Trump stumbled when questioning the USA role in assisting Ukraine in its conflict with Russian Federation.
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Rick Jacobs, president of the Union for Reform Judaism representing roughly 1.5 million American Jews, praised Clinton for her command of the issues and said he hoped Trump revealed specific policy goals as well as a coherent philosophy of the United States role in the Middle East. The Vermont senator urged Israel to end the economic blockade of Gaza and to release millions of shekels in tax revenue that the Benjamin Netanyahu-led administration has withheld from the Palestinians.
