The husband-and-wife attackers who slaughtered 14 people at an employee banquet fired as many as 75 rifle rounds in the assault, left behind three rigged-together pipe bombs with a remote-control device that apparently… Rand Paul – ended up skipping the event, after his address was initially postponed due to votes on Capitol Hill.
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But it was Donald Trump who ramped up the rhetoric further than all the others. He’s been a person I’ve known over the years.
“Look, we show our cards too much in negotiations”, Trump said.
“You’re not going to support me because I don’t want your money”, he told the audience. Senator Lindsey Graham of SC: “I may have the first all-Jewish Cabinet”.
“I’m a negotiator like you folks: We are negotiators”, said real estate mogul and Republican front runner Donald Trump, referencing his long-ago bestseller “The Art of the Deal”.
“In this case he is speaking to a group of Jewish Republicans, a significant portion of whom are business people”, ADL CEO Jonathan A. Greenblatt said in a statement.
The audience’s clear favorites of the day included Sens.
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) during a campaign event last month in Manchester, N.H. In what was maybe the best argument for his presidency, Rubio explained his thinking on issues such as Syria, Afghanistan, Libya and Iraq. Cruz, speaking first in the day, warned against U.S.-spurred regime change and spoke out against the Obama administration seeking to remove Assad. Trump said it might be an example of “radical Islamic terrorism” the president won’t yet acknowledge. She said that the United States is exceptional, and that it must stand with its allies, including Israel.
“But I’d like to go in with a clean slate, and just say let’s go, everybody’s even, we love everybody and let’s see if we can do something”, he said.
Still, the billionaire businessman who has made his skills as a dealmaker a key piece of his pitch to voters was visibly enthusiastic about the prospect of tackling the intractable foreign policy challenge.
Both said they are concerned about Trump and are leaning toward Rubio and Cruz, but haven’t committed to any particular candidate. But the wooden speech that was heavy on Israeli history and statistics failed to strike a chord with the audience.
It was an extraordinary speech to a group used to deferential treatment. “This room negotiates them – perhaps more than any other room I’ve ever spoken in”. “It just doesn’t work”. For the candidates, the stakes are high as they make their pitches to more than 600 attendees.
The other candidates at the forum also bragged about their Jewish ties – their friendliness toward Israel and the depth of their friendships with Jews. “I will finally move our embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem”, Rubio declared.
Trump got mixed reviews after his speech. “You want to control your own politician… you want to install a puppet in the White House”.
As the crowd booed him, he downplayed their reaction, telling the audience to “relax”.
“With us, we have a deal instinct, a lot of us, you walk into a room and you can tell nearly in two seconds whether or not you’re going to make a deal”, he said. “It’s going to be fine”.
Many of those same donors also attended a morning briefing for Right to Rise USA, Bush’s super PAC.
And the best part: At the end of his appearance, The Donald still got a standing ovation.
“Our prayers are with the families of those who were murdered and those who were shot”, Cruz said.
He said the elderly patriarch was not watching “CSI” anymore.
“I don’t think either one helped themselves particularly”, Fleischer added. “That’s his main goal in life”, Bush joked as the crowd cheered.
But not all who heard Trump speak thought he had flirted with anti-Semitic stereotypes.
In the Q&A, RJC’s executive director confessed that Rubio had covered “85 percent” of what he was going to ask.
Numerous candidates addressed the shooting at the beginning of their remarks, though they differed on whether to call it terrorism.
Gun-loving presidential contender Ted Cruz is moving forward with a Second Amendment-support campaign event at an Iowa shooting range Friday as the nation mourns the mass shooting in San Bernardino, Calif.
“We must not pressure Israel on settlements until Palestinians recognize Israel and it borders”, Bush said.
BuzzFeed News similarly took Trump to task for invoking “Jewish stereotypes”. “As a former prosecutor… Allies need to know we have their back”.
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As he defended his pro-Israel credentials, Trump raised doubts about those of Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton when asked whether he believes she is a friend of Israel.
