“You have to give plaudits to Donald Trump for chutzpah”, tweeted the Guardian’s Ben Cohen.
Advertisement
The billionaire businessman was speaking at a Republican Jewish Coalition event in Washington DC along with other GOP presidential hopefuls. And he suggested to the influential group simply wanted to install a puppet in the White House.
“You’re not going to support me because I don’t want your money”, Trump said… “You think you’re going to win an election with that kind of garbage?” “You want to control your own politicians, that’s fine”.
It was an extraordinary speech to a group used to deferential treatment. Is Israel supposed to be committed to its own destruction in the name of a NY liberal-endorsed peace? Marco Rubio told the crowd.
Trump backtracked on comments that he made Wednesday in which he suggested that Israelis could sacrifice more than they had already for the sake of peace. “They are dead wrong, and they don’t understand the enduring bond between Israel and America”.
Those remarks – linking Jews and money – instantly zoomed through social media and posts, where Trump got beaten up.
“The voters understand that to lead the United States, you need a person who knows more than how to sell products, with all due respect to Donald Trump, and everything he has achieved in his career”, Zell said.
“I don’t know that Israel has the commitment to make it. I don’t know that the other side has the commitment to make it”, he said.
The comment drew murmurs of disapproval.
Trump was also booed by the audience for refusing to state that Jerusalem ought to remain the undivided capital of Israel, an offense that I don’t particularly consider to be racist.
“He’s amusing. And if I went to the Catskills for vacation, I’d love to see him”, NY attorney Eric Levine said of Trump.
Trump told an audience member who asked about his thoughts on Israel that he plans to visit that country soon and meet with prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Several candidates blasted him from the stage. At the heart of his campaign is Trump’s argument that his experience in business and real estate would prepare him for negotiations with world leaders. “It’s a struggle to safeguard the future of Israel”.
At the same time, Trump crossed some lines that could cause trouble for lesser candidates who are, unlike Trump, bound to the laws of political gravity.
“I want to say where have you been for the last 70 years?”
But she also said she generally liked Trump’s presentation.
“I’m a negotiator, like you folks”. But the Republican presidential candidate says he has doubts about each side’s commitment to the peace process… “Because so much death, so much turmoil, so much hatred – that would be to me a great achievement. He should know better, and probably does”.
Advertisement
“I don’t know if Israel has the commitment to make it”, Trump said, thereby making himself the only US presidential candidate who has insulted Latinos, women, gays, Chinese, Muslims, blacks and the disabled – all in less than six months. The group and its biggest benefactor – casino magnate Sheldon Adelson – have little tolerance for anything that might be perceived as a criticism of the Jewish state.
