Trump was in Washington for closed-door talks with a variety of Republicans organised by his top backer in the capital, US Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama. We have now an opportunity to change course or have four more years of the same.
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Hillary Clinton took a number of veiled shots at Trump when she addressed AIPAC earlier in the day, taking aim at his spotty history answering questions about how he would view Israel as president.
Over the course of his campaign, Trump has repeatedly vowed not to use a teleprompter, saying last August that the technology should be outlawed “for anybody running for President”.
The poll included 1,252 adults, 1,058 of whom identified themselves as registered voters, with 362 Republican primary voters and 388 Democratic primary voters.
And yet his comments on registering Muslims in the US, and a salute to Trump at an Orlando rally compared by some to an apparent Nazi salute, that all frightens some Israelis.
Kasich said that as “a result of the flawed Iran nuclear deal, Israel and the Arab Gulf states are now closer than ever”, a reference to the fact that Saudi Arabia and Israel both voiced objections to the deal.
“These attacks must end immediately”, she said.
Trump scored his own points, promising “we will move the American embassy to the eternal capitol of the Jewish people, Jerusalem”. He said he would come down hard on Iran if it failed to cross “a single T” in living up to the nuclear agrement.
Israel’s security, she proclaimed to loud applause, “is non-negotiable”.
“There is no moral equivalency”, Trump told an audience of 18,000 participants at the conference.
Her stance against Jewish settlements on land claimed by the Palestinians has been criticized by some in the pro-Israel community, but she has been received warmly by pro-Israel groups in the past.
The billionaire has described himself as “extremely pro-Israel” and he served as grand marshal for the Israel parade in NY in 2004, but a group of rabbis have said they will boycott his speech.
“The United Nations is not a friend of democracy”, Trump said. Yet instead of the threatened protests, Mr Trump’s speech was met with laughter and several standing ovations, not least when he attacked the foreign policy of the current administration – and of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, whom he seems increasingly likely to face in the general election.
Trump also called for moving the United States embassy for Israel, which he had previously declined to do.
Clinton also said the next president must be a “steady hand, not unpredictable”, when dealing with allies like Israel.
“He clearly hired somebody to write that speech for him and it contained some good things”, Cruz later said on CNN about Trump.
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“With President Obama in his final year…yay!”
