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| Trump tries his hand at foreign policy in speech to skeptical Aipac crowd | Trump tries his hand at foreign policy in speech to skeptical Aipac crowd |
| (about 17 hours later) | |
| Donald Trump vowed to stand with Israel and branded Hillary Clinton a “disaster” as he delivered the first detailed foreign policy speech of his presidential campaign. | Donald Trump vowed to stand with Israel and branded Hillary Clinton a “disaster” as he delivered the first detailed foreign policy speech of his presidential campaign. |
| Sounding noticeably stilted, he read from a teleprompter and almost stuck to a script for the first time in his campaign during Monday night’s high-stakes appearance at the annual policy conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (Aipac). | |
| As the Republican frontrunner took the stage, he announced: “I didn’t come here to pander.” And, of course, Trump then did precisely that, offering few policy specifics but instead delivering a series of pro-Israel bromides to a skeptical crowd, spiced with occasional attacks on Barack Obama. He received a mix of boos and cheers from the crowd at the Verizon Center as he branded Clinton a “total disaster” as secretary of state. | As the Republican frontrunner took the stage, he announced: “I didn’t come here to pander.” And, of course, Trump then did precisely that, offering few policy specifics but instead delivering a series of pro-Israel bromides to a skeptical crowd, spiced with occasional attacks on Barack Obama. He received a mix of boos and cheers from the crowd at the Verizon Center as he branded Clinton a “total disaster” as secretary of state. |
| Trump has previously earned criticism for suggesting he would be “sort of a neutral guy” on Israel and seek to negotiate peace with the Palestinians, describing himself as best placed to make “probably the toughest deal in the world right now”. | Trump has previously earned criticism for suggesting he would be “sort of a neutral guy” on Israel and seek to negotiate peace with the Palestinians, describing himself as best placed to make “probably the toughest deal in the world right now”. |
| However, on Monday, in front of an influential and passionately Zionist audience, Trump tried to demonstrate his foreign policy chops and stand out in a field where he is the only candidate without Washington experience. | However, on Monday, in front of an influential and passionately Zionist audience, Trump tried to demonstrate his foreign policy chops and stand out in a field where he is the only candidate without Washington experience. |
| This is not a room where you want to play acoustic. [Trump] brought his electric guitar, he brought his amps | This is not a room where you want to play acoustic. [Trump] brought his electric guitar, he brought his amps |
| He urged support for moving the US embassy to Jerusalem in a policy shift and demonstrated his credentials as a lifelong supporter of Israel, bragging about having once “taken the risk” to serve as grand marshal of New York’s Israel Day parade in 2004. | He urged support for moving the US embassy to Jerusalem in a policy shift and demonstrated his credentials as a lifelong supporter of Israel, bragging about having once “taken the risk” to serve as grand marshal of New York’s Israel Day parade in 2004. |
| Trump railed against the Iran deal that the Obama administration reached. He argued that he would both “restructure” and “dismantle” it, while also condemning the United Nations as “not a friend of democracy”. | Trump railed against the Iran deal that the Obama administration reached. He argued that he would both “restructure” and “dismantle” it, while also condemning the United Nations as “not a friend of democracy”. |
| The billionaire also claimed his deal-making ability would somehow help Israel and the Palestinians reach a peace accord. Trump, though, repeatedly referred to Palestine, which is not a country, and set himself up for an immediate riposte from Ted Cruz who immediately noted “Palestine has not existed since 1948” after taking the stage. | The billionaire also claimed his deal-making ability would somehow help Israel and the Palestinians reach a peace accord. Trump, though, repeatedly referred to Palestine, which is not a country, and set himself up for an immediate riposte from Ted Cruz who immediately noted “Palestine has not existed since 1948” after taking the stage. |
| Trump’s speech came shortly after the Republican frontrunner questioned the need for Nato and suggested that the US does not benefit from its involvement in east Asia in an interview with the Washington Post’s editorial board. | Trump’s speech came shortly after the Republican frontrunner questioned the need for Nato and suggested that the US does not benefit from its involvement in east Asia in an interview with the Washington Post’s editorial board. |
| Democratic congressman Brad Sherman, a stalwart supporter of the US-Israel alliance, said Trump “did sing some of the greatest hits of Aipac, he may have sung them a bit off key but he sang them with enthusiasm and he’s a great stadium performer.” He noted: “This is not a room where you want to play acoustic. He brought his electric guitar, he brought his amps.” | |
| In contrast, Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton used her Aipac speech earlier in the day to go after Trump. Without mentioning him by name, the former secretary of state left little doubt that she was challenging Trump’s qualifications to be commander-in-chief, portraying him as dangerously malleable and lacking firm convictions. | |
| Related: Hillary Clinton to Aipac: Trump is dangerous for the security of Israel | Related: Hillary Clinton to Aipac: Trump is dangerous for the security of Israel |
| “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 earlier 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 earlier on Monday. |
| In a sign that Clinton believes she has one hand on the Democratic nomination, she used Monday’s speech in Washington to concentrate her fire on Trump, contending that he falls short on a crucial principle. “I’ve sat in Israeli hospital rooms, holding the hands of men and women whose bodies and lives were torn apart by terrorist bombs,” she said. “I’ve listened to doctors describe the shrapnel left in a leg, an arm or even a head. | |
| “That’s why I feel so strongly that America can’t ever be neutral when it comes to Israel’s security or survival. We can’t be neutral when rockets rain down on residential neighborhoods, when civilians are stabbed in the street, when suicide bombers target the innocent. Some things aren’t negotiable – and anyone who doesn’t understand that has no business being our president.” | “That’s why I feel so strongly that America can’t ever be neutral when it comes to Israel’s security or survival. We can’t be neutral when rockets rain down on residential neighborhoods, when civilians are stabbed in the street, when suicide bombers target the innocent. Some things aren’t negotiable – and anyone who doesn’t understand that has no business being our president.” |
| The former first lady also zeroed in on some of Trump’s most controversial proposals: encouraging violence at campaign rallies; “playing coy” with white supremacists; calling for 12 million immigrants to be rounded up and deported; demanding that the US turn away refugees because of their religion; and proposing a ban on all Muslims entering the country. | The former first lady also zeroed in on some of Trump’s most controversial proposals: encouraging violence at campaign rallies; “playing coy” with white supremacists; calling for 12 million immigrants to be rounded up and deported; demanding that the US turn away refugees because of their religion; and proposing a ban on all Muslims entering the country. |
| “Now, we’ve had dark chapters in our history before. We remember the nearly 1,000 Jews aboard the St Louis who were denied entry in 1939 and sent back to Europe. But America should be better than this. And I believe it’s our responsibility as citizens to say so.” Clinton said: “If you see bigotry, oppose it. If you see violence, condemn it. If you see a bully, stand up to him.” | “Now, we’ve had dark chapters in our history before. We remember the nearly 1,000 Jews aboard the St Louis who were denied entry in 1939 and sent back to Europe. But America should be better than this. And I believe it’s our responsibility as citizens to say so.” Clinton said: “If you see bigotry, oppose it. If you see violence, condemn it. If you see a bully, stand up to him.” |
| Clinton also touched on important subjects to the crowd at Aipac, praising US-Israel cooperation on the Iron Dome missile defense system, while issuing spirited attacks on the BDS movement, a radical campaign which equates the Jewish state to apartheid South Africa, as well as growing campus antisemitism in the US. | |
| Clinton also defended the controversial nuclear accord, telling the 18,000-strong gathering in a sports area: “Today, Iran’s enriched uranium is all but gone, thousands of centrifuges have stopped spinning, Iran’s potential break-out time has increased, and new verification measures are in place to help us deter and detect any cheating. The United States, Israel and the world are safer as a result.” | Clinton also defended the controversial nuclear accord, telling the 18,000-strong gathering in a sports area: “Today, Iran’s enriched uranium is all but gone, thousands of centrifuges have stopped spinning, Iran’s potential break-out time has increased, and new verification measures are in place to help us deter and detect any cheating. The United States, Israel and the world are safer as a result.” |
| Advocating an approach of “distrust and verify”, she added: “Tonight you will hear a lot of overheated rhetoric from the other candidates about Iran, but there’s a big difference between talking about holding Tehran accountable and actually doing it.” | Advocating an approach of “distrust and verify”, she added: “Tonight you will hear a lot of overheated rhetoric from the other candidates about Iran, but there’s a big difference between talking about holding Tehran accountable and actually doing it.” |
| Trump’s two Republican rivals, Texas senator Ted Cruz and Ohio governor John Kasich also spoke at the event. | Trump’s two Republican rivals, Texas senator Ted Cruz and Ohio governor John Kasich also spoke at the event. |
| Cruz gave a series of body blows to Trump’s foreign policy as he received a rapturous reception from the crowd. | Cruz gave a series of body blows to Trump’s foreign policy as he received a rapturous reception from the crowd. |
| The Texas senator had long made the pledge to move the US embassy in Israel to Jerusalem on his first day in office a staple of his stump speech and Cruz, whose Hebrew pronunciation was impeccable by the standards of an evangelical Cuban American from Texas, was perfectly in tune with the hawkish crowd. | The Texas senator had long made the pledge to move the US embassy in Israel to Jerusalem on his first day in office a staple of his stump speech and Cruz, whose Hebrew pronunciation was impeccable by the standards of an evangelical Cuban American from Texas, was perfectly in tune with the hawkish crowd. |
| Cruz lambasted the Obama administration’s nuclear deal with Iran, comparing it with British prime minister Neville Chamberlain’s attempt to broker peace with Adolf Hitler at Munich in 1938. He castigated Hillary Clinton for supporting it and Trump for merely wanting to improve it. | |
| “On the first day in office, I will rip this catastrophic Iranian nuclear deal to shreds,” he said, claiming it had put $100bn in the hands of the Ayatollah Khomeini. “On the first day, we will reimpose sanctions on Iran.” | “On the first day in office, I will rip this catastrophic Iranian nuclear deal to shreds,” he said, claiming it had put $100bn in the hands of the Ayatollah Khomeini. “On the first day, we will reimpose sanctions on Iran.” |
| He vowed: “Hear my words, Ayatollah Khomeini, if I am president and Iran launches a missile test, we will shoot that missile down … The way to avoid conflict is to stand up to bullies.” | |
| The Texas senator said the murder in Israel last week of American Taylor Force in a terrorist attack is a reminder that “America and Israel are in the fight together against radical Islamic terrorism. We need a president who will be a champion for America. And we need a president who will be a champion for Israel. In my time in the Senate, I have endeavored to do both.” | The Texas senator said the murder in Israel last week of American Taylor Force in a terrorist attack is a reminder that “America and Israel are in the fight together against radical Islamic terrorism. We need a president who will be a champion for America. And we need a president who will be a champion for Israel. In my time in the Senate, I have endeavored to do both.” |
| Kasich, who made clear he would not “take the low road to higher office” did not even obliquely attack any of his rivals. Instead, he condemned what he saw as a “culture of hatred and death” among Palestinians which he saw as a major obstacle to peace in the region. The Ohio governor also criticized Obama administration’s Iran nuclear deal and pledged: “In a Kasich administration, there will be no more delusional agreements with self-declared enemies.” He added “Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East. America’s and Israel’s interests are tightly intertwined, despite our inevitable disagreements from time to time.” | Kasich, who made clear he would not “take the low road to higher office” did not even obliquely attack any of his rivals. Instead, he condemned what he saw as a “culture of hatred and death” among Palestinians which he saw as a major obstacle to peace in the region. The Ohio governor also criticized Obama administration’s Iran nuclear deal and pledged: “In a Kasich administration, there will be no more delusional agreements with self-declared enemies.” He added “Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East. America’s and Israel’s interests are tightly intertwined, despite our inevitable disagreements from time to time.” |
| The only remaining presidential candidate not to attend, Vermont senator Bernie Sanders, instead expressed his support for a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians at a campaign stop in Utah. Sanders, who couldn’t appear remotely at Aipac, told attendees in Utah. “We as a nation are committed not just to guaranteeing Israel’s survival but also making sure it’s people have a right to live in peace and security.” | The only remaining presidential candidate not to attend, Vermont senator Bernie Sanders, instead expressed his support for a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians at a campaign stop in Utah. Sanders, who couldn’t appear remotely at Aipac, told attendees in Utah. “We as a nation are committed not just to guaranteeing Israel’s survival but also making sure it’s people have a right to live in peace and security.” |
| Sanders did criticize what he thought was Israel’s “disproportional response” to rocket launches and terrorist attacks from Hamas-occupied Gaza. | Sanders did criticize what he thought was Israel’s “disproportional response” to rocket launches and terrorist attacks from Hamas-occupied Gaza. |