Key Staff
Early Meetings
First Foreign Visit
The United Nations
Recognition of Jerusalem
Iran
The “Ultimate Deal”
The Abraham Accords
Other Developments
The Woodward Book
Concerns About the Saudis and Lebanese
The Israeli Ambassador’s “Worst Day”
Reversing Policy on Settlements
International Criminal Court
Opposition to China Investments
Military Aid
Boycotting Boycotters
Assassination Attempt
Post-Presidency Revelations
2024 Campaign
Fighting or Promoting Anti-Semitism?
Iranian Interference
The Battle for Michigan
Remarks On American Jews, Democrats, and Israel
Post-Presidency Comments
Trump Is Elected 47th President

Donald Trump was inaugurated as the 45th President of the United States on January 20, 2017. He was defeated for reelection in 2020 by former Vice President Joe Biden. On November 15, 2022, Trump announced he would run again for president in 2024.

Key Staff

Supporters of Israel, uncomfortable with Trump’s lack of political and, especially, foreign policy experience, looked to his son-in-law Jared Kushner for reassurance. Trump’s daughter Ivanka had converted to Orthodox Judaism to marry Kushner, and he was viewed as one of the new president’s closest advisers. Kushner has a personal relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for many years. He reportedly wrote the very pro-Israel speech Trump delivered at the AIPAC Policy Conference in 2016 and was expected to be a positive influence on the president’s policy toward Israel.

Trump also chose two close friends, neither of whom had any foreign policy experience, to work directly with Israel. The first, David Friedman, a 57-year-old bankruptcy attorney, was appointed ambassador to Israel. Friedman aroused controversy because of his role as the president of the Friends of Bet El, a settlement in the West Bank. Friedman was also an outspoken critic of the two-state solution and had angered some Jewish leaders when he referred to J Street as being worse than kapos and made derogatory remarks about the ADL. Friedman was confirmed after testifying before Congress that he would support the pursuit of a two-state solution and apologizing for the comments he had made about J Street. After Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, he became the first U.S. ambassador to make an official visit to the Western Wall.

Trump’s other surprising appointment was Jason Greenblatt, the executive vice president and chief legal officer to The Trump Organization, as Special Representative for International Negotiations. Greenblatt traveled to Israel and the West Bank in March 2017 and impressed many of his interlocutors with his open-mindedness. He spoke to Jews and Arabs with a variety of opinions, including Israeli settlers and Palestinian refugees, and presented the image of someone who would be a skilled negotiator. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said that after meeting the envoy, he believed Trump was serious about reaching an agreement. Arab leaders who met with him on the sidelines of the Arab League summit in Jordan a few weeks later came away with the same opinion.

While the president repeatedly expressed his commitment to Israel and his intention to take a friendlier approach toward Israel and its prime minister – statements that alarmed the Palestinians – some of Israel’s supporters were concerned when Trump chose Exxon executive Rex Tillerson as secretary of state. Tillerson was yet another appointee with no foreign policy experience. He had extensive ties in the Middle East due to his position in the oil industry. However, given that industry’s traditional closeness to the anti-Israel oil producers of the region, his views on Israel were uncertain. Early on, however, he sought to reassure Israel and its friends, stating during his confirmation hearings, for example, “Israel is, has always been and remains our most important ally in the region.” He criticized Security Council Resolution 2334 and his predecessor’s “troubling” speech condemning Israeli policy. “The president-elect has already made it clear that we’re going to meet our obligations to Israel as the most important ally in the region.” He also expressed skepticism about negotiations with the Palestinians so long as they refuse to recognize Israel as a Jewish state and cease terrorism. Tillerson also vowed support for congressional action to combat the BDS movement and a full review of the Iran nuclear deal, which he opposed.

Tillerson was replaced as Secretary of State by Mike Pompeo on March 13, 2018, who was viewed as more sympathetic to Israel and hostile toward Iran. In March 2019, Pompeo became the first Secretary of State to pay an official visit to the Western Wall, ending a longstanding taboo. During his trip, Pompeo said that Israel has no better friend than the United States and that Israelis “can be confident that President Trump will maintain this close bond.”

In April 2018, John Bolton replaced H.R. McMaster as National Security Adviser. Bolton was considered especially hawkish toward Iran and a strong friend of Israel.

In mid-June 2018, Greenblatt and Kushner traveled to the Middle East to test the waters for a potential Israeli-Palestinian peace plan and explore options for rehabilitating Gaza. They met with officials in Jordan and Israel to discuss these topics, but Palestinian leaders refused to meet with the U.S. delegation.

Early Meetings

Trump held his first meeting with an Arab leader, King Abdullah of Jordan, on February 2, 2016. After the meeting, the White House clarified that while they “don’t believe the existence of settlements is an impediment to peace, the construction of new settlements or the expansion of existing settlements beyond their current borders may not be helpful in achieving that goal.”

Two days after his inauguration, Trump called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss the Iran nuclear issue and the regional threat of ISIS. Trump invited the Prime Minister to visit the White House, which he did on February 15, 2017. During a joint press conference with the Prime Minister, the President dropped the historic U.S. commitment to a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, stating, "I’m looking at two states and one state, and I can live with either one."

Trump also surprised Netanyahu by publicly urging the prime minister to “hold back on settlements for a little bit.” Before their meeting, the White House had told Israel to stop announcing new settlements. Press Secretary Scott Spicer said, “While we don’t believe the existence of settlements is an impediment to peace, the construction of new settlements or the expansion of existing settlements beyond their current borders may not be helpful in achieving that goal.”

On May 3, 2017, President Trump hosted Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in the White House.

The Washington Post reported on May 15, 2017, that Trump had revealed highly classified information five days earlier in a White House meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Russian Ambassador to the U.S. Sergey Kislyak. It was subsequently revealed that the information had been obtained by an Israeli source embedded within ISIS in Syria. Israeli officials feared that the leak could compromise intelligence sources and put Israeli agents in danger.

The administration also declared National Jewish American Heritage Month in May 2017.

First Foreign Visit

President Donald Trump embarked on his first foreign trip on May 19, 2017, with plans to visit Saudi Arabia, Israel, the Vatican, and then various European nations on a 9-day trip. On May 21, 2017, Trump arrived in Israel on the first-ever direct flight from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to Tel Aviv and was greeted by a red-carpet ceremony at Ben-Gurion International Airport. After issuing joint statements with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, Trump met with Israeli President Reuven Rivlin and then toured Jerusalem’s Old City with his entourage. President Trump wore a Yarmulke and prayed at the Western Wall during the afternoon of May 21, 2017, becoming the first sitting President ever to visit the holy site.

Trump visits the Western Wall

During Trump’s visit to Israel, he also met with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Bethlehem. While initial reports surfaced of a cordial meeting, this was soon disproven by officials with knowledge of the exchange. Trump reportedly screamed at Abbas, saying he had deceived me [Trump] in Washington, after being shown by the Israelis that Abbas personally ha[s] a hand in incitement.

Trump was also furious about the PA’s “pay-for-slay” policy of providing salaries to convicted Palestinian terrorists in Israeli prisons and reiterated the demand he had made at the White House for Abbas to end the practice. Abbas told Trump he would not “stop the allowances of the families of the prisoners and Martyrs (Shahids), and emphasized his absolute support for them (i.e., for the payments).”

In a meeting with Palestinian officials on June 20, 2017, Trump’s envoy, Jason Greenblatt, reiterated the demand that the Palestinians cease payments to the so-called Martyr’s Fund. A Palestinian official said the meeting did not go well, and the request was rejected. Reportedly, the PA increased payments to terrorists and their families in 2018 by nearly $56 million after distributing $347 million in 2017.

In 2018, Trump signed into law the Taylor Force Act, which halted U.S. foreign aid to the Palestinian Authority until Palestinian terrorists and their families cease to be paid.

The United Nations

The Trump administration wasted no time sending a message to the UN that it would no longer tolerate its ally being singled out for condemnation. One of the president’s first appointments, South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, blasted the UN’s bias and declared that there “is a new sheriff in town.”

A particular target of Israel and the administration’s wrath is the Human Rights Council, where some of the world’s worst human rights violators pillory Israel and ignore the horrors taking place elsewhere in the world. The Obama administration often protested the absurdity of the council’s positions; nevertheless, it remained a member and opposed efforts to cut funding to the UN. Haley called the Council “corrupt,” and Tillerson warned the U.S. would withdraw from the Council if it does not undertake “considerable reform.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was the first person President Trump met one-on-one with during the United Nations General Assembly in September 2017. Later that month, Trump’s Ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, sparked angry reactions from around the globe when he broke with formal U.S. policy and stated that the settlements are a part of Israel. The U.S. State Department clarified that Friedman’s statements did not indicate a shift in policy and should not be used to prejudge negotiations to come.

After weeks of internal debate as to whether to eliminate all UNRWA funding as punishment for opposition to President Trump’s policies, the Trump Administration decided on January 16, 2018, that the U.S. would pledge $60 million to Palestinian refugee programs. This is slightly less than half of what was expected, and according to administration officials, the remaining $65 million would be held for future consideration. The following week the U.S. State Department announced that they would be withholding an additional $45 million in food aid pledged the previous month in a separate agreement.

Nikki Haley was one of the strongest advocates for Israel to ever serve as ambassador to the UN. Following her resignation in December 2018, Jonathan Cohen briefly replaced her. Her permanent successor, Kelly Craft, was not allowed to remain in the Cabinet and is a much more low-key representative; nevertheless, she immediately established herself as a vigorous defender of Israel. In September 2019, for example, she blocked a UN Security Council statement on tensions between Israel and Hezbollah because of its criticism of Israel.

During Trump’s term, the United States vetoed two Security Council resolutions. One mentioned below regarding Jerusalem and a second in 2018 condemning Israel’s response to Palestinian riots along its border with Gaza that the Palestinians called the “Great March of Return.”

Recognition of Jerusalem

New York Times correspondent Maggie Haberman wrote in her book Confidence Man that Trump accepted a $20 million Super PAC contribution from the billionaire Sheldon Adelson to move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem. Trump planned to make the announcement during his visit to Israel in May 2017 but was talked out of it by his National Security Adviser Lt. General (ret.) H.R. McMaster. In his book, At War With Ourselves: My Tour of Duty in the Trump White House, McMaster said he advised Trump to discuss it with his cabinet and allow time to consider the consequences.

The president waited until December 6, 2017, before recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and the beginning of the process of moving the U.S. embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Leaders around the globe widely criticized the decision as detrimental to the peace process. Every other United Nations Security Council member voted on December 18 in favor of a resolution demanding that Trump reverse the decision, but the United States vetoed the resolution. The General Assembly subsequently voted overwhelmingly on December 21, 2017, for a resolution calling on the U.S. to withdraw its recognition of Jerusalem.

Vice President Mike Pence made a two-day visit to Israel in January 2018. Palestinian officials refused to meet with him in protest of the decision on Jerusalem, but Israelis warmly greeted him. During the trip, Pence announced that the U.S. embassy would be moved to Jerusalem before the end of the year, contradicting earlier State Department statements that suggested the move would be delayed for years until a new building could be constructed. Soon after, the administration announced that it would move the U.S. embassy to the grounds of the consulate in Jerusalem on May 14, 2018, to coincide with the celebration of Israel’s 70th birthday.

The new United States embassy in Jerusalem was opened on May 14, 2018, coinciding with Israel’s Independence Day. Officials from the Trump administration attended the ceremony, along with representatives from 33 other countries. Noticeably absent were representatives from Western European nations.

It took another two years, but the administration announced in October 2020 that the U.S. passports of Americans born in Jerusalem can now mention Israel as their country of birth. This had been a longstanding anomaly, as the State Department considered Americans in this circumstance to have no country of birth.

Iran

The election outcome signaled a change in American policy toward Iran after Trump had repeatedly called the nuclear deal a disaster. In early February 2017, the new administration sanctioned 13 individuals and 12 entities for their support of Iran’s detrimental activities. Trump also announced a review of the Iran deal, which he described as “one of the worst deals I’ve ever witnessed.”

Under the deal, the State Department must update Congress on Iran’s compliance every 90 days. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson continued to fulfill that obligation in a letter to House Speaker Paul Ryan, saying that Iran is complying with the terms of the agreement. Tillerson also says, however, that Iran “remains a leading state sponsor of terror, through many platforms and methods” and that Trump had ordered an interagency review to determine whether the deal is “vital to the national security interests of the United States.”

After Trump warned he would cancel the nuclear deal with Iran, administration officials spent months negotiating an agreement with European allies to strengthen the JCPOA to satisfy the president’s concerns. The Europeans were unwilling, however, to make significant changes in the agreement and were particularly opposed to reimposing sanctions that would threaten their business opportunities in Iran. Consequently, on May 8, 2018, Trump announced the United States would be exiting the nuclear deal

Trump also announced the U.S. would reimpose sanctions lifted as part of the JCPOA and that “no new contracts” with Iran will be permitted. The U.S. Treasury Department said it would halt transactions in Iranian government debt or currency and purchases involving the country’s automobile sector within 90 days. Deals involving Iran’s oil and energy sector, shipping, and ports would be banned within 180 days. Individuals and entities that were delisted from sanctions will be re-designated.

In subsequent months, the administration imposed additional sanctions with the objective of bringing Iran back to the negotiating table and allowing the international community to forge a deal that would prevent Iran from building a nuclear weapon and stop its other destabilizing activities. The day after withdrawing from the agreement, Trump warned if Iran resumed its nuclear program, there would be “very severe consequences.”

European Union leaders met with their Iranian counterparts to reassure them they would do what they could to protect the JCPOA from the effects of the sanctions. Trump warned, however, that “any nation that helps Iran in its quest for nuclear weapons could also be strongly sanctioned by the United States.” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo added later: “We understand that our reimposition of sanctions and the coming pressure campaign on the Iranian regime will pose financial and economic difficulties for a number of our friends. Indeed, it imposes economic challenges to America as well. These are markets our businesses would love to sell into as well. And we want to hear their concerns. But we will hold those doing prohibited business in Iran to account.”

The decision to withdraw from the deal was met with widespread criticism from many foreign policy experts, former Obama administration officials, and some nuclear proliferation analysts. A poll published by Politico also indicated the American public was split on the decision (40-37 percent opposed pulling out in response to one question, but, when worded differently, respondents approved by a 42-40 percent margin), and most felt it made both the United States and Israel less safe.

Meanwhile, America’s Middle Eastern allies enthusiastically supported the U.S. announcement. Israel, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the UAE, and Bahrain all pointed out the agreement’s flaws and hailed Trump’s decision.

Trump also sent a message to Tehran when he ordered air strikes in April 2017 and 2018 against targets in Syria, which President Bashar Assad had used to launch chemical weapons attacks. By demonstrating that he was willing to use military force when red lines were crossed, Trump put the Iranians on notice that they could not count on using the nuclear agreement as a shield against an American response to their provocations.

In May 2019, tensions between the United States and Iran escalated as American intelligence indicated an increased threat to U.S. interests. American forces were moved to the region and there was heightened concern that the two countries were headed for war. “If Iran wants to fight, that will be the official end of Iran,” Trump tweeted on May 19, 2019. “Never threaten the United States again!” In an interview with Fox News, he added, “I don’t want to fight. But you do have situations like Iran, you can’t let them have nuclear weapons — you just can’t let that happen.”

The same month, Trump said, “We’re not looking for regime change. I want to make that clear…We’re looking for no nuclear weapons.” He added, “I do believe Iran would like to talk, and if they’d like to talk, we’ll talk also. . . . Nobody wants to see terrible things happen, especially me.”

Asked about his views on Iran during his state visit to Britain, Trump said there’s a “chance” he will order military actions against Iran but stated, “I’d much rather talk” with Iranian leaders. “There’s always a chance [for military action]. Do I want to? No. I’d rather not. But there’s always a chance.”

Before meeting with French President Macron in June 2019, Trump said, “The one thing that [Iran] can’t have is they can’t have nuclear weapons. And I think the President of France would agree with that very strongly. I think that he would agree that they cannot have nuclear weapons.”

Israelis became concerned when they learned in September 2019 that Trump was considering easing sanctions on Iran and meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif. In his memoir, Bolton said he and Secretary of State Pompeo lobbied Trump not to attend the meeting arranged by French President Emmanuel Macron. Trump ultimately did not go, which pleased the Israelis, but they later lost Bolton as an ally inside the administration when the president fired him.

U.S. sanctions have decimated Iran’s economy, but Iran’s policies have not changed. It has remained hostile toward the United States, committed to developing ballistic missiles and sponsoring terror and creating a land bridge to the Mediterranean. Iran has also continued to destabilize the region by its involvement in supporting rebels in Yemen and backing Bashar Assad’s forces in Syria.

Worse, from Israel’s perspective, Iran is attempting to establish bases in Syria from which it can attack Israel and provide logistical support to Hezbollah. Iran also had not ceased its pursuit of a nuclear weapon, which had continued after signing the nuclear agreement thanks, in part, to its loopholes. The overt flouting of the terms of the agreement supplemented those covert actions. In early June 2020, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) disclosed that Iran’s total stockpile of low-enriched uranium exceeded the amount allowed under the agreement, that Iran had increased the purity of the uranium it is enriching to 4.5%, violating the agreement’s limit of 3.67% and that it was denied access to two locations that could be used for storing or processing nuclear material.

At a fundraiser in August 2020, Trump said if he was reelected, “we will have a deal with Iran within four weeks.”

Chuck Freilich, a former deputy Israeli national security adviser, concluded, “The bottom line, from Israel’s perspective, is that its overall strategic situation vis-a-vis Iran has deteriorated severely under Trump. Iran is closer to a bomb, Israel is surrounded by Iran and its proxies, and increasingly likely to find itself standing essentially alone in the confrontation with Tehran.”

In 2022, NPR reported that Trump tweeted a classified image of an Iranian rocket exploding on the launch pad taken by a reconnaissance spy satellite.

Other Developments

The Trump Administration released a National Security Strategy paper on December 18, 2017, featuring a section detailing the administration’s regional Middle East Strategy.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with President Trump on March 5, 2018. Netanyahu thanked the president for his support, specifically the recognition of Jerusalem, but the main focus of their meeting was mutual concerns about Iran.

On March 13, 2018, the U.S. hosted a conference addressing the Gaza Strip humanitarian crisis. Enraged by President Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel unilaterally, the Palestinians rejected an invitation to the conference, which was attended by representatives from 19 nations, including Israel and all of the Arab Gulf states.

On March 25, 2019, Trump announced the United States would recognize Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights. Some observers believed the announcement’s timing was meant to help Netanyahu’s reelection campaign. A subsequent visit by Pompeo days before the election reinforced this perception, as did the administration’s silence following Netanyahu’s campaign remark about annexing the settlements and the State Department’s decision to designate Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a foreign terrorist organization.

Trump tweeted his reaction to Hamas rocket attacks on Israel in May 2019: “Once again, Israel faces a barrage of deadly rocket attacks by terrorist groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad,” the president said on Twitter. “We support Israel 100% in its defense of its citizens. To the Gazan people — these terrorist acts against Israel will bring you nothing but more misery. END the violence and work towards peace — it can happen!”

In a move many criticized as interfering in Israel’s electoral process, Trump tweeted while Netanyahu was working to form a coalition government, “Hoping things will work out with Israel’s coalition formation and Bibi and I can continue to make the alliance between America and Israel stronger than ever. A lot more to do!”

Netanyahu could not form a government, and Israel was forced to schedule another one for September 17, 2019. Trump was not happy about the development. “Israel is all messed up with their election — I mean, that came out of the blue three days ago. So that’s all messed up. They ought to get their act together,” Trump said. “I mean, Bibi [Netanyahu] got elected, now all of a sudden they’re going to have to go through the process again until September. That’s ridiculous. So we’re not happy about that.”

In August 2019, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Israel to strengthen their global partnership in development between the two countries.

In November 2019, following the inconclusive election in Israel, Trump said, “They keep having elections and nobody gets elected.” He joked that he has a “98 percent approval rating in Israel,” and that “if anything happens here, I’m taking a trip to Israel — I’ll be prime minister there.” He added, “They’re all fighting and fighting each other. Here we have other kinds of fighting, but at least we know who the boss is.”

Commenting on the flareup of violence during which Palestinian Islamic Jihad fired rockets into Israel, Trump said, “It’s crazy, missiles are flying and Israel is shooting back.”

Just days before leaving office, President Trump ordered U.S. Central Command, which is responsible for military policy in the Middle East, to include Israel, which has been part of the European command. Until now, the U.S. was afraid including Israel would jeopardize military cooperation with the Arab states. This concern has diminished following Israel’s normalization of relations with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. Pro-Israel groups have advocated the change for many years and believe it will improve coordination in addressing the threat to the region from Iran.

On his last day as president, Trump pardoned Aviem Sella, an IAF colonel who was indicted by a U.S. federal grand jury in March 1987 on three counts of espionage for recruiting Jonathan Pollard to spy for Israel.

High-resolution satellite imagery showing construction at Israel’s Dimona nuclear facility released in February 2021 was made possible by an executive order by President Trump allowing U.S. companies to sell images at a resolution of .4 meters instead of 2 meters. The 1997 Kyl-Bingaman Amendment restricted the quality of imagery to protect secure Israeli facilities.

The Woodward Book

In his book Rage, journalist Bob Woodward reported that in the spring of 2017, Trump was beginning to have “doubts about Netanyahu and wondering aloud if the Israeli prime minister might be the real problem.” Woodward adds, “Trump had even earlier said to Netanyahu on a Washington visit that he believed he was the obstacle to peace, not Abbas.”

Netanyahu met with Trump on May 22, 2017, and gave him a video showing statements made by Abbas. “It sounded like Abbas was ordering the murder of children,” Woodward writes. Tillerson insisted, but Kushner disputed, that the video was doctored to “counter any pro-Palestinian sentiments that were surfacing,” according to Woodward, though Kushner disputes this.

Trump subsequently met Abbas and called him a “murderer” and a “liar.” The video also impelled the president to order the closure of the PLO office in Washington, D.C., and the cancellation of “nearly all U.S. aid to the West Bank and Gaza, as well as $360 million in annual aid previously given to the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees.”

Kushner gave Tillerson “four or five versions” of a Middle East peace plan, all of which the secretary of state regarded with “skepticism.” Woodward notes that in “one version Kushner proposed Israel take the Jordan Valley,” but Tillerson told Kushner that would “never fly.”

“So it came out, only to go back in the plan later,” Woodward writes. While Kushner believed that “economic benefits” were key to the plan, Tillerson thought that was naive. “These people are not going to care about your money,” Woodward quotes Tillerson as saying. “Or they’ll take your money and five years from now, you’ll be right back where you are today. That’s not going to buy you peace.” Tillerson also told Woodward Kushner’s relationship with Netanyahu was “nauseating to watch” and “stomach-churning.”

Concerns About the Saudis and Lebanese

Even as Israel was quietly improving relations with Saudi Arabia because of their mutual concern about Iran, officials were concerned about reports in 2018 that the U.S. planned to build nuclear reactors in Saudi Arabia. The Saudis were discussing a deal to build at least 16 nuclear reactors at a cost of $80 billion to reduce the kingdom’s dependence on oil. This would be a windfall for U.S. companies, but Israel is worried nuclear materials could be diverted for military purposes. Like the Iranians, the Saudis insist they are only interested in peaceful uses of nuclear energy; however, given their threat to obtain a bomb if Iran does, Israel has a reason for alarm. Initially, Israel hoped to stop the deal, but when it was clear they could not, officials asked the administration to take steps to assuage their concerns. For example, Israel wants to be informed of what equipment the Saudis will receive, assurances that they will not be allowed to enrich uranium and that spent fuel will be removed from the kingdom.

Israel and its friends in the U.S. were also concerned with the administration’s decision to continue to arm the Lebanese army. The army was once seen as a possible counter to the growing influence of Iran’s proxy Hezbollah in the country; however, after the 2018 elections in which Hezbollah strengthened its position within the government, Israel feared the Lebanese army was compromised.

The Israeli Ambassador’s “Worst Day”

According to Bob Woodward’s book Fear, after Assad launched a chemical attack on civilians in April 2017, Trump considered assassinating Assad. “Let’s fucking kill him! Let’s go in. Let’s kill the fucking lot of them,” Trump told Defense Secretary Jim Mattis.

On September 5, 2018, Trump denied discussing the idea. Almost exactly two years later, however, the president criticized Mattis, who had come out against Trump’s reelection, and said, “I would’ve rather taken him out.” Though he did not need Mattis’s permission, Trump said he did not act because of the secretary’s opposition. He did, however, order an air strike on other targets in Syria.

According to former National Security Adviser John Bolton’s book, The Room Where it Happened, Ambassador to the United States Ron Dermer told Bolton that Trump’s unexpected decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria in December 2018 was the “worst day he had experienced thus far in the Trump administration.”

On December 14, 2018, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan asked Trump to help get an investigation of a Turkish bank dropped, according to Bolton. In addition, Erdogan wanted the American forces to withdraw so that his forces could fight ISIS and the Kurdistan Workers Party. “Trump said he was ready to leave Syria if Turkey wanted to handle the rest of ISIS,” according to Bolton.

Trump justified the move by claiming, inaccurately, that the war against ISIS had been won and it was no longer necessary for American soldiers to be on the ground. This was also consistent with his campaign pledge to bring troops home and end U.S. involvement in foreign wars. In agreeing, Trump ignored his advisers, members of Congress, and allies in Europe and the Middle East, including Israel. Critics were concerned that Erdogan would slaughter the Kurds, who were allies of the United States in the fight against ISIS in Syria. Israel also had a good relationship with the Kurds and a tense one with Turkey at the time.

Bolton believed the U.S. presence was necessary to confront Iran and that abandoning the Kurds would force them to “ally with Assad against Turkey” or be ethnically cleansed. Turkey had also taken actions that were contrary to U.S. and Israeli interests, such as buying anti-aircraft missiles from Russia, hosting members of Hamas, criticizing Israel, opposing U.S. sanctions on Iran, and relocating America’s embassy to Jerusalem.

Israel feared the United States’ abandonment of the Kurds could damage America’s relations with Arab allies, which might look to the Russians for support or, in the case of Saudi Arabia, consider a rapprochement with Iran. Israel also worried the American withdrawal would give Iran the opportunity to create a land corridor from Tehran to Beirut, which was obstructed by the Kurdish presence. The likelihood of the Kurds allying with Syria against Turkey also strengthens Syrian President Bashar Assad. In October 2019, after U.S. troops were withdrawn from Syria, Pompeo went to Jerusalem to reassure Israel it would keep some troops near the Syria-Iraq border where they could prevent Iran from creating its desired land bridge.

The “Ultimate Deal”

After months of deliberating and planning, the administration was expected to finally unveil its peace plan after the April 2019 election in Israel. However, when Netanyahu was unable to form a government and a new election was called for September, the timeline changed. As was the case before April, Trump did not want to release the plan out of concern it might impact the election.

In the short run, the administration planned to go ahead with a conference in Bahrain on June 25-26, 2019, to discuss the economic elements of the plan. The Palestinians immediately announced they would boycott the meeting and lobbied Arab governments to do the same.

Meanwhile, Pompeo reinforced widespread skepticism of the plan when he told a group of Jewish leaders the administration peace plan “may be rejected,” Trump responded on June 2, 2019, “Look, we’re doing our best to help the Middle East to get a peace plan, and he [Pompeo] may be right. I mean, most people would say that,” he said. “But if we can get a Mideast peace plan that would be good. And when Mike says that, I understand when he says that because most people think it can’t be done. I think it probably can. But as I say often, we’ll see what happens.”

In what some analysts viewed as an effort to aid Netanyahu’s campaign just three days before the Israeli election, Trump said on September 14, 2019, he discussed a possible “mutual defense treaty” between the U.S. and Israel in a call with the prime minister. He tweeted that the potential deal would “further anchor the tremendous alliance between our two countries.” He added that he looked forward to “continuing those discussions after the Israeli Elections when we meet at the United Nations later this month!”

On January 28, 2020, the much-anticipated peace plan was released during Netanyahu’s visit to Washington. The Prime Minister welcomed the initiative, which received a mixed reception in the American Jewish community. Several left-leaning organizations denounced it because the Palestinians were not involved in its formulation, and the conception of a two-state solution is dramatically different from past peace plans. Even some on the right were critical of its call for the creation of a Palestinian state with its capital in a part of Jerusalem. Some liked that Israel would be allowed to annex about 30 percent of the West Bank and that no settlements would have to be evacuated but were less happy with the proposed four-year freeze on the establishment of new communities. No one was entirely satisfied, but the president’s supporters generally viewed the plan as consistent with his pro-Israel positions, while his detractors saw it as a case of interfering in Israel’s upcoming election for the benefit of Netanyahu.

With no support from the Palestinians or the international community and ongoing political chaos in Israel, the administration made little effort to advance the plan. Instead, it focused on promoting peace between Israel and Arab nations.

The Abraham Accords

Following the Israeli election in March 2020, Netanyahu announced plans to unilaterally apply sovereignty to some or all the Jewish communities in the West Bank as early as July 1. He was encouraged by U.S. Ambassador David Friedman, but Jared Kushner was reportedly advising Israel not to move ahead, and Netanyahu complied. Then, in a dramatic and unexpected joint announcement by the United States, Israel, and the UAE on August 13, 2020, Israel and the UAE “agreed to the full normalization of relations.” In addition, the statement said, “As a result of this diplomatic breakthrough, and at the request of President Trump with the support of the United Arab Emirates, Israel will suspend declaring sovereignty over areas outlined in the President’s Vision for Peace and focus its efforts now on expanding ties with other countries in the Arab and Muslim world.”

The UAE emphasized the point regarding the suspension of sovereignty to demonstrate it had not totally abandoned the Palestinian cause. The UAE also reportedly secured a commitment from the administration that the United States will not recognize Israeli annexation of parts of the West Bank until at least 2024. Though this would not obligate a Biden administration to do the same, the former Vice President has said he opposed Israeli annexation so it is likely he would not abrogate the promise.

Winning this concession from Israel did not prevent the Palestinians from lambasting the agreement. The Palestinian Authority condemned the agreement as “a betrayal of Jerusalem” and an “aggression against the Palestinian people.” Hamas called it “cowardly” and “a blatant assault on our religious, national, and historical rights in Palestine, a treacherous stab in the back of the Palestinian people and their resistance forces, and a miserable attempt to influence their struggle and resistance path aimed [at] defeating the occupation.”

Reports suggested Trump personally had little or nothing to do with the agreement and that Kushner played the major role on the U.S. side. UAE-Israel relations had already been steadily improving, and other reports indicated a Mossad representative was instrumental in brokering the final deal. Nevertheless, Trump reaped the benefits of appearing to have pulled off a major foreign policy accomplishment in facilitating a peace agreement between Israel and a third Arab country.

“You’re going to end up with peace in the Middle East, real peace in the Middle East,” Trump said afterward. “Now, by the way, UAE was the leader and they signed the first one and now all of the countries, almost all, are calling, ‘Well what about us? We want to sign too.’”

“It’s an incredible thing for Israel,” he concluded. “It’s incredible for the evangelicals by the way, the evangelicals love Israel. Love Israel. So we’re doing things that nobody else would do or could do.”

One matter of controversy emerged after the announcement of the Abraham Accords regarding the possible sale of F-35 stealth fighters to the UAE. It was initially reported that Netanyahu consented to the sale, seeing it as the price of the agreement, but he later denied such a quid pro quo.

There is a precedent for such a deal. Following the signing of the peace treaty with Egypt, Israel dropped objections to selling fighter planes to Egypt. This case is different, however, because the F-35 is the most advanced fighter plane in the world. Though Israel already has them, Israeli officials, members of Congress, and some analysts argued the sale would erode Israel’s qualitative military edge (QME) in the region.

The president faces a dilemma. By selling the planes, the United States would get billions of dollars to help the economy, create jobs, and benefit his reelection campaign. Simultaneously, it would upset the Israelis and their supporters and offset some of the goodwill created by the Accords, though they may not try to block the sale to avoid angering the president. The sale also could potentially violate the law that requires Israel’s QME to be maintained, though it is likely the administration would argue that Israel’s edge remains intact.

Fulfilling Trump’s prediction that other countries would follow the UAE’s example, he announced on September 11, 2020, that Bahrain had also agreed to establish diplomatic relations with Israel.

On September 15, 2020, President Trump hosted the signing ceremony for the Abraham Accords. The President, Prime Minister Netanyahu, UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdullatif Al Zayani signed a declaration expressing their common interests. Trump, Netanyahu, and Al Nahyan signed a UAE-Israel peace treaty, and Trump, Netanyahu, and Al Zayani signed a Bahrain-Israel peace agreement.

Trump promised that more agreements would be forthcoming, and expectations were raised that Saudi Arabia might be the next to take the leap, given that the Saudis would have had to approve the other Gulf states to make their moves. The Saudis, however, were not the next countries to establish relations with Israel. Instead, it was Sudan, which was won over in large measure by a promise to be removed from the U.S. list of sponsors of terrorism. Next, Morocco, which had rescinded recognition of Israel, reestablished relations in December 2020 and flew aboard the first direct commercial Israeli flight on El Al from Israel to Morocco.

Speaking to the Republican Jewish Coalition in 2022, Trump said he would have brokered additional peace agreements between Israel and the Arab states if the 2020 election had not been “rigged.”

“We would have had maybe all of them, that includes Saudi Arabia, within a short time after the election,” Trump said. “They haven’t signed any of them. We could have truly had peace in the Middle East.” He insisted, “The election was rigged, and it’s too bad it was, and Israel lost a lot.”

Reversing Policy on Settlements

On November 18, 2019, Secretary of State Michael Pompeo announced a shift in U.S. policy on settlements. He said, “The establishment of Israeli civilian settlements in the West Bank is not per se inconsistent with international law.”

Pompeo acknowledged that a legal opinion that the settlements were illegal was expressed during the Carter administration. He noted that Ronald Reagan rejected this opinion. Pompeo also recalled that his predecessor had referred to them as illegal, but the Trump administration agreed with the Reagan interpretation.

Prime Minister Netanyahu and U.S. Ambassador to Israel Friedman signed an agreement on October 27, 2020, extending the United States and Israel’s scientific cooperation to apply to Israeli institutions in the West Bank and the Golan Heights. The deal removed geographic restrictions on funding from the Binational Science Foundation (BSF), the Binational Industrial Research and Development Foundation (BIRD), and the Binational Agricultural Research and Development Fund (BARD), which previously were not allowed to sponsor projects in “areas which came under the administration of the Government of Israel after June 5, 1967” and related “to subjects primarily pertinent to such areas.”

Prof. Eugene Kontorovich of George Mason Law School said, “This is really quite momentous. It is the first time the U.S. has adopted a policy that explicitly and clearly authorizes the use of funds across the green line… It’s a very strong recognition that settlements are not illegal.” Furthermore, he said, it sends “send an important message that science has no borders, and you can’t politicize science.”

In November 2020, Pompeo became the first U.S. cabinet member to pay an official visit to a settlement when he visited a winery in Psagot. The State Department also announced that products from settlements can now be labeled Made in Israel.

International Criminal Court

In June 2020, the administration announced sanctions against the International Criminal Court (ICC). Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the United States is “also gravely concerned about the threat the court poses to Israel. The ICC is already threatening Israel with an investigation of so-called war crimes committed by its forces and personnel in the West Bank and in the Gaza Strip. Given Israel’s robust civilian and military legal system and strong track record of investigating and prosecuting wrongdoing by military personnel, it’s clear the ICC is only putting Israel in its crosshairs for nakedly political purposes. It’s a mockery of justice.”

Pompeo acknowledged receiving letters from a bipartisan group of 69 senators and 262 House members urging him to call on the International Criminal Court to halt its “politically motivated” investigations of Israel and the United States. “That’s what the U.S. is dead set on doing, and with good reason,” Pompeo declared. “They’re a trusted and wonderful partner and a buttress of American security. If a rogue court can intimidate our friend or any other ally into abrogating its right to self-defense, that puts Americans at risk as well.”

Opposition to China Investments

The administration opposed China’s involvement in construction in the ports of Haifa and Ashdod. In May 2020, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo flew to Jerusalem to deliver the message that Israel should stop all Chinese investment in Israel, either in high-tech companies or infrastructure. According to Breaking Defense, Israeli officials said Pompeo warned Israel “to stop any action that strengthens the Chinese Communist Party, even if that means canceling projects already planned.”

Pompeo said, “We don’t want the Chinese Communist Party to have access to Israeli infrastructure and to Israeli communication systems – all of the things that put Israeli citizens at risk, and in turn – put the capacity for America to work alongside Israel on important projects at risk as well.”

Following U.S. pressure to prevent China from participating in infrastructure projects, Israel awarded an Israeli group a contract to build the world’s largest desalination plant.

Military Aid

In December 2019, Trump approved the 2020 budget, which included $3.8 billion in U.S. security assistance to Israel and $500 million for U.S.-Israel missile defense cooperation, as outlined in the 2016 U.S.-Israel Memorandum of Understanding.

In March 2020, the Department of Defense announced plans to sell KC-46 Pegasus aerial refueling aircraft to Israel. In July, the Trump administration agreed to provide Israel with 990 million gallons of diesel and gasoline for ground vehicles and jet fuel for aircraft for $3 billion. The fuel expense will be covered by U.S. aid money given to Israel.

Boycotting Boycotters

During a trip to Israel in November 2020, Pompeo announced the U.S. would brand the BDS movement as anti-Semitic and bar any groups that participate in it from government funding. The U.S. “strongly opposes the global discriminatory boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) campaign,” a statement from Pompeo said, “and practices that facilitate it, such as discriminatory labeling and the publication of databases of companies that operate in Israel or Israeli-controlled areas.” He also asserted that “anti-Zionism is anti-Semitism.”

Further, Pompeo directed the Office of the Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism to identify organizations that support the BDS movement and whether these organizations are working to penalize or limit commercial relations with Israel or “any territory controlled by Israel.”

Assassination Attempt

On July 13, 2024, Thomas Matthew Crook attempted to assassinate former President Trump during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. The president’s right ear was pierced but he was otherwise uninjured. One person attending the rally was killed, and two others were injured.

Three days later, the media reported that Iran was believed to be plotting to kill Trump. “As we have said many times, we have been tracking Iranian threats against former Trump administration officials for years, dating back to the last administration,” Adrienne Watson, a spokeswoman for the National Security Council, said in a statement. “These threats arise from Iran’s desire to seek revenge for the killing of Qasem Soleimani. We consider this a national and homeland security matter of the highest priority.”

Post-Presidency Revelations

After Trump left office, he continued to make comments about Israel, former Prime Minister Netanyahu, and American Jews (see below). Journalists published many books about his administration, and several memoirs were written by members of his administration that revealed new details about the Trump White House.

In addition to being bitter over his defeat in the 2020 election, he also expressed anger after Netanyahu congratulated Joe Biden on his victory. He accused Netanyahu of disloyalty and claimed he had helped his counterpart survive politically with his pro-Israel decisions. For example, Trump’s recognition of the Golan Heights came right before the 2019 election when Netanyahu was trailing in the polls. “He would have lost the election if it wasn’t for me,” Trump said.

He also told journalist Barak Ravid, “I’ll tell you what - had I not come along I think Israel was going to be destroyed. Okay. You want to know the truth? I think Israel would have been destroyed maybe by now.”

In his memoir, “Bibi: My Story,” Netanyahu complained about Trump. He said World Jewish Congress President Ron Lauder convinced Trump that Netanyahu was the main obstacle to peace with the Palestinians. Netanyahu said that when Trump came to Israel, he told President Reuven Rivlin, “Bibi doesn’t want peace.”

Netanyahu says he changed Trump’s mind after showing him a video in which Abbas spoke to an international audience in English about wanting peace while glorifying terrorists when he spoke to Palestinians in Arabic.

Netanyahu was also unhappy when Kushner suggested to Amb. Dermer that Israel freeze construction in the settlements “for a couple of years.”

Though Netanyahu accepted the Trump peace plan, which called for the establishment of a Palestinian state, he now says it was only because he expected the Palestinians to reject it (as they did).

According to Netanyahu, before the peace plan was announced, he received a letter from Trump agreeing to support Israel’s declaration of sovereignty over the territory allotted to Israel. While Friedman had encouraged Netanyahu to move quickly, Kushner opposed Israel annexing the land.

The New York Times’s Maggie Haberman had extraordinary access to President Trump and broke numerous stories about the administration. In her book Confidence Man, she claims that Trump accepted a $20 million Super PAC contribution from the billionaire Sheldon Adelson to move the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

In November 2022, Trump attracted criticism from both inside and outside the Republican Party when he had dinner with rapper Kanye West and white nationalist Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes. Only days before, West had made several anti-Semitic remarks. Trump initially refused to condemn his guests. He claimed not to know Fuentes and said he had shown up with West. “Nobody has to prove or be defensive of me and Israel,” he told Fox News in response to allegations of racism and anti-Semitism. “They have acknowledged that I’m the best friend and president to Israel. I gave them the embassy in Jerusalem.”

Weeks later, when asked about the furor in an interview with Breitbart, Trump said no one espousing anti-Semitism or Holocaust denialism, or racism had any place in the GOP. He said, “We don’t want ill will,” adding that it was “very unfairly covered” by the media.

Following his federal indictment related to the January 6 attack on the capitol, Trump courted controversy when his campaign issued a statement that said, “The lawlessness of these persecutions of President Trump and his supporters is reminiscent of Nazi Germany in the 1930s, the former Soviet Union, and other authoritarian, dictatorial regimes.”

2024 Campaign

In July 2024, Netanyahu came to Washington to deliver a speech before Congress. He also met with President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. Netanyahu then flew to Mar-a-Lago to meet with Trump on July 26. It was their first face-to-face meeting in almost four years. Netanyahu hoped to mend fences with the president, who had been angered by what he viewed as disloyalty when he congratulated Biden on his election victory. The former president had also made disparaging remarks about Israel’s conduct in the war with Hamas.

Nevertheless, Trump said, “No president has done what I’ve done for Israel. And we’ve always had a great relationship...It was never bad.”

Trump had previously said that Hamas would never have attacked Israel if he was president. He told Netanyahu, “If we win, it will be very simple, it’s all going to work out, and very quickly,” Trump said as Netanyahu and his entourage looked on. “If we don’t, you’re going to end up with major wars in the Middle East and maybe a Third World War. You are closer to a Third World War right now than at any time since the Second World War, you’ve never been so close because we have incompetent people running our country.”

In subsequent remarks, Trump said he had asked Netanyahu how “a Jewish person, or a person that loves Israel” can vote for Democrats. Netanyahu said Jews voted Democratic out of “habit.” Trump also criticized Harris for not attending Netanyahu’s speech (she had a previously scheduled engagement), saying she “doesn’t like Jewish people” (she’s married to one) and “doesn’t like Israel.” Trump also said, “Biden has totally lost control of the Israel situation...Any Jewish person who votes for Kamala, or a Democrat, should immediately have their head examined.” He posted on his social media platform that Harris’s “ineptness” would “greatly prolong” the war in Gaza.

Trump’s daughter, Ivanka, and her husband, Jared Kushner, who had both played critical roles in the president’s first term, were noticeably absent from the campaign trail, rarely were seen with the president, and explicitly ruled out being involved if he was reelected. Michael Wolff reported in his book, All or Nothing, that they refused to support Trump or sign a statement that he was not anti-Semitic after October 7, when Trump criticized Netanyahu for allowing the attack on Israel to take place.

Trump chose Ohio Senator J.D. Vance as his running mate. During the 2016 election, Vance called Trump “America’s Hitler,” a “moral disaster,” and a “total fraud” who is “reprehensible.” However, he underwent a conversion when running for Congress, publicly apologized for his disapproving comments, and aligned himself with the MAGA movement, winning Trump’s endorsement.

The former president repeatedly denigrated Jews who supported the Democratic Party. At a July rally, Trump attacked Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), telling his supporters, “Chuck Schumer has become a Palestinian. Can you believe it? He’s become a proud member of Hamas.”

Referring to illegal immigrants, Trump said during an interview with Elon Musk, “They’re coming from countries that are stupidly and horribly bombing Israel, October 7th. They’re coming from all over the world. And you look at, it’s so sad, October 7th, because it should have never happened.” Similarly, Trump claimed Iran would not be threatening Israel if he were president and reiterated his frequent claim that if he had been president, the attack on Israel “would’ve never happened.” He also foresaw that an attack by Iran or Hezbollah would “swamp” Israel’s defenses by “shooting enough missiles.” The result would be to “obliterate” Israel.

Besides attacking Biden’s policy, Trump asserted Harris “is so anti-Israel” and also bad for the Palestinians. He criticized her for not attending Netanyahu’s address to Congress and returned to another recurring theme: “If you’re a Jewish person or if you believe in Israel, if you’re a person that is very pro-Israel, if you vote for her, it’s worse than Biden, and Biden was bad. But if you vote for her, you ought to have your head examined.”

Trump referred to Harris’s running mate, Tim Walz, as “an anti-Israel radical left person.”

Trump pledged to build an iron dome. “Why shouldn’t we have an iron dome? Israel has one....We’re going to have an iron dome.”

“What’s going on now is exactly what was going on before the Holocaust,” Trump said in a speech on August 16. “Instead of aggressively confronting these venomous anti-Semites in her party, Kamala Harris has maneuvered for their support.”

“The toxic poison of antisemitism now courses through the veins of [the] radical Democrat Party,” he said. “We’re here tonight because we believe that this vicious outbreak of militant antisemitism is very militant, must be given no quarter, no safe harbor, no place in a civilized society. We must reject it in our schools, reject it in our foreign policy, reject it in our immigration system and reject it at the ballot box this November.”

On Israel, Trump accused the Biden administration of “betraying” Israel. “From the start, Harris has worked to tie Israel’s hand behind its back, demanding an immediate ceasefire, always demanding ceasefire,” he said, adding it “would only give Hamas time to regroup and launch a new October 7 style attack.”

By contrast, he said, “I will give Israel the support that it needs to win, but I do want them to win fast, wouldn’t it be nice if they could win fast? And we have to let them win fast. We will restore civility and peace to the Middle East.”

Regarding the hostages, Trump said, “I think you’re gonna have very few people left. A lot of people that they think are alive are not going to be alive.”

Trump also claimed that if Harris wins, “the radical left flag burners and Hamas sympathizers will not just be causing chaos on our streets. They’ll be running U.S. foreign policy in the White House, and Israel will be gone.”

The former president threatened to deport pro-Palestinian protesters, who he called “pro-Hamas thugs” and “jihad sympathizers.”

He also made several false statements, such as saying Harris considered imposing an arms embargo on Israel and rushed out of her meeting with Netanyahu.

In response to criticism from Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro at the Democratic National Convention, Trump posted:

The highly overrated Jewish Governor of the Great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Josh Shapiro, made a really bad and poorly delivered speech talking about freedom and fighting for Comrade Kamala Harris for President, yet she hates Israel and will do nothing but make its journey through the complexities of survival as difficult as possible, hoping in the end that it will fail. Judge only by her actions! Yet Shapiro, for strictly political reasons, refused to acknowledge that I am the best friend that Israel, and the Jewish people, ever had. I have done more for Israel than any President, and frankly, I have done more for Israel than any person, and it’s not even close.

According to author Michael Wolff, Trump was “obsessed” with Shapiro and feared he would lose Pennsylvania and the election if Harris put him on her ticket.

Following the murder of six Israeli hostages by their Hamas kidnappers, Trump blamed Biden and Harris. “We grieve the senseless death of the Israeli Hostages, horrifically including a wonderful American Citizen, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, murdered by Hamas due to a complete lack of American Strength and Leadership,” Trump posted on social media. “Make no mistake — This happened because Comrade Kamala Harris and Crooked Joe Biden are poor Leaders. Americans are getting slaughtered overseas, while Kamala is disparaging and making up lies about Gold Star families, and Biden is sleeping on the beach on this 16th consecutive day of vacation. They have blood on their hands!”

Courting the Jewish vote, Trump spoke at the Republican Jewish Coalition conference. “You’ll never survive if they get in,” Trump said. “Kamala Harris is the candidate of the forces who want to destroy Western civilization and Israel. I am the candidate of those who want to defend Western civilization and Israel.”

He also repeated his theme of Jews needing their “head examined” if they vote for a Democrat. “You’re going to be abandoned if she becomes president and I think you have to explain that to your people because they don’t know,” he said. “They have no idea what they’re getting into. You’re not going to have an Israel if she becomes president. Israel will no longer exist.” He instructed the Jews gathered in Las Vegas, “You must get them to vote for Republicans. You must get them to vote for Trump and if you don’t you’re not going to have a country.”

Trump highlighted the pro-Israel actions he took as president and said, “American Jews felt safe on our streets and college campuses.”

He fed the audience what they wanted to hear, such as when he declared that “We kept radical Islamists out of our country but all of that changed with comrade Kamala Harris and crooked Joe Biden in the White House” and his declaration that he would deport “foreign jihad sympathizers and Hamas supporters.”

He also addressed the murder of Israeli hostages by Hamas. “The blame for these wicked murders lies with Hamas, and Hamas only...Only a morally rotten president and vice president would seek to blame Israel for heinous acts of terror committed against its own citizens.”

Insinuating that he had 50% of the Jewish vote, Trump said, “I only ask you, who are the 50% of Jewish people that are voting for these people that hate Israel and don’t like the Jewish people?” he said. “This November, you must get Jewish people or people that love Israel — you must get them to vote for Republican, you must get them to vote for Trump.”

Luke Tress noted in JTA that anti-Semitism increased during his presidency. Also on his watch, the deadliest anti-Semitic attack in American history – the 2018 Pittsburgh synagogue shooting – occurred.

In response, Halie Soifer, CEO of the Jewish Democratic Council of America, said Trump had “denigrated millions of American Jewish voters.” Furthermore, “He accused Jewish Americans of having a dual loyalty by referring to Israel as ‘your nation.’ This is antisemitism, plain and simple.”

During the presidential debate on September 10, neither candidate answered the question about breaking the stalemate in the hostage negotiations. Trump said:

If I were president it would have never started. But when she [Harris] mentions about Israel all of a sudden -- she hates Israel. She wouldn’t even meet with Netanyahu when he went to Congress to make a very important speech. She refused to be there because she was at a sorority party of hers. She wanted to go to the sorority party. She hates Israel. If she’s president, I believe that Israel will not exist within two years from now. And I’ve been pretty good at predictions. And I hope I’m wrong about that one. She hates Israel. At the same time in her own way she hates the Arab population because the whole place is going to get blown up, Arabs, Jewish people, Israel. Israel will be gone.

Even some of Trump’s staunchest supporters thought he had gone too far in the remark about Israel ceasing to exist in two years. Overall, they remained convinced Harris would not be as good a president for Israel as Trump.

JTA reporter Ron Kampeas asked both campaigns if their candidate identified as a Zionist as Biden does. Each gave answers from their talking points expressing support for Israel that implied they supported Zionism but did not use the word or say their candidates were Zionists.

Fighting or Promoting Anti-Semitism?

In a speech at an event called “Fighting Antisemitism in America,” Trump said, “If I don’t win this election,” then “the Jewish people would have a lot to do with a loss.” He told the audience, “You can’t let this happen.”

“I’m here today to tell the Jewish American community that this ugly tide of antisemitic, pro-Hamas bigotry and hate will be turned back and crushed starting at noon on Jan. 20, 2025,” he said, referencing inauguration day.

“You have to defeat Kamala Harris more than any other people on Earth,” he said. “Israel, I believe, has to defeat her.”

“And if not,” he added, “Israel will be eradicated.”

Referring to his support for Israel, he repeated a frequent reference to his feeling that Jews were ungrateful. “I really haven’t been treated very well,” he said. “After having done all of that, having been the best president, the greatest president, by far.”

A Pew Research Center poll found that 34% of American Jews supported him. Trump said a poll he didn’t identify had him at 40%. “It’s craziness to say, I’m at 40%,” he said. “When I heard that number today, just came out today — when I heard that number today —I think it was insulting to our country. It was insulting to Israel.”

“That means you got 60% voting for somebody that hates Israel,” he added. “It’s only because of the Democrat hold or curse on you. You can’t let this happen — 40% is not acceptable, because we have an election to win.”

Trump also repeated his belief that Israel will “cease to exist” within two years. “It’s going to be wiped out.”

Repeating what he believed was an insult directed at Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Trump said he “is a Palestinian.”

In another speech the same day, Trump repeated another of his campaign themes: “If we continue down our current path, with four more years of Kamala, Israel will be faced not just with an attack, but with total annihilation. Total annihilation, that’s what you’re talking about. You have a big protector in me. You don’t have a protector on the other side.”

He asked the audience, “Can you imagine that a non-Israeli election is the single most important election that Israel will ever have?”

In both speeches, Trump said he would “deport the foreign jihad sympathizers and Hamas supporters from our midst” and ban refugee resettlement from terror-infested areas like the Gaza Strip.” He added, “We will seal our border and bring back the travel ban. Remember the famous travel ban? We didn’t take people from certain areas of the world [several Muslim-majority countries] because I didn’t want to have people ripping down and burning our shopping centers and killing people. We’re not taking them from infested countries.”

It was Trump’s comments on Jews that brought immediate condemnation from some Jewish leaders. ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt posted on X that he appreciated Trump talking about anti-Semitism but said, “the effect is undermined by then employing numerous anti-Semitic tropes and anti-Jwish stereotypes – including rampant accusations of dual loyalty. Preemptively blaming American Jews for your potential election loss...increases their sense of alienation in a moment of vulnerability when right-wing extremists and left-wing anti-Zionists continually demonize and slander Jews. This is happening on college campuses, in public places, everywhere.” He concluded, “Calling out hate is important, but I can’t overstate how the message is diluted and damaged when you employ hate to make your point.”

The American Jewish Committee issued a statement that said, “Setting up anyone to say ‘we lost because of the Jews’ is outrageous and dangerous. Thousands of years of history have shown that scapegoating Jews can lead to antisemitic hate and violence....Divisive rhetoric like this has no place in politics, especially at a time of rising threats of political violence and two assassination attempts on the former president.”

A White House spokesperson said, “It is abhorrent to traffic in dangerous tropes or engage in scapegoating at any time, let alone now, when all leaders have an obligation to fight back against the tragic worldwide rise in anti-Semitism.”

Not surprisingly, the Republican Jewish Coalition had a different view, ignoring the anti-Semitic elements of the speech: “President Donald Trump’s speech last night was a tour de force in support of the Jewish community and Israel, as we collectively face some of the darkest days in modern Jewish history.”

The different perspectives were also reflected in the press, as in the headlines from NBC, “At a ‘fighting anti-Semitism’ event, Trump says Jewish voters will bear ‘a lot’ of blame if he loses,” and Fox News, “Trump tells Jewish voters he will stand up for them.“

Iranian Interference

Trump also began to talk on the campaign trail about what he said was an effort by Iran to try to kill him and how he would react if he were president and found out about plots to harm an American president or candidate.

“As you know, there have been two assassination attempts on my life that we know of, and they may or may not involve — but possibly do — Iran,” Trump said at a campaign event. “If I were the president, I would inform the threatening country, in this case Iran, that if you do anything to harm this person, we are going to blow your largest cities and the country itself to smithereens.”

In an interview with Hugh Hewitt, the host said Trump was winning among Jews and Arab Americans and asked the former president why he was doing so well with both groups. “Because I want to see everything get worked out. I want peace. I don’t want to see people killed. I want peace, and they know that. And the Jewish people know that. And both sides like it, and know that I can get peace.”

Asked whether he thought Israel would recover from the war, Trump continued to harp on the ingratitude of Jews. “Israel has to do one thing, they have to get smart about Trump because they don’t back me. I did more for Israel than anybody. I did more for the Jewish people than anybody -- and it’s not reciprocal.”

When Hewitt said more Jews were supporting him, Trump replied, “But we don’t have 100%, and I’ll never hit that, but we should have 100%.”

Trump said “he would have had a deal a long time ago” with Iran because his sanctions had made them broke. He added that Iran could not have nuclear weapons, and he would applaud if Israel attacked its nuclear sites. “They’re entitled to an attack, and nobody will be upset if they attack because they’re entitled.”

He also said, “I would have gotten, in my opinion, 50/50 chance, maybe more than that, Iran would have been in the Abraham Accords...They wanted to make a deal so bad until we had that phony election.”

When asked whether he would have the Department of Justice go to campuses to enforce laws to protect Jews from anti-Semitism, Trump said, “100%. I mean, the law is being broken.” He said Jewish students should be afraid. “I never thought I would see this in my life with the campus riots and what they’re saying and what they’re doing. And they have to put them down quickly. They really have to put them down quickly.”

Hewitt asked Trump what he would do in Gaza, if it could be another Monaco. “It could be better than Monaco,” Trump said. “It has the best location in the Middle East, the best water, the best everything...I’ve said it for years.” He added, falsely, that he had been to Gaza.

Some of the nation’s wealthiest Jews were investing heavily in the race. Most notable was Miriam Adelson, who contributed $100 million to a Trump super PAC.

In a revelation likely to further anger Biden and other Democrats who believe Netanyahu is hoping for Trump to be reelected, the prime minister said he had spoken to the former president, who “congratulated him on the intense and determined operations that Israel carried out against Hezbollah,” according to Netanyahu’s office.

In another pitch to Jewish voters at a Pennsylvania rally, Trump said of Biden, “He’s telling Bibi Netanyahu, ‘Don’t do that, don’t do this, don’t do any of these things.’ Bibi didn’t listen to him, and they’re in a much stronger position now than they were three months ago. Nobody’s ever seen anything like this. Bibi called me today and said ‘it’s incredible,’ but he wouldn’t listen to Biden because if he did, they wouldn’t be in this position.”

Later, he told Al Arabiya that he was sure many of the Israeli hostages were dead. “I would’ve said, ‘you have to release the hostages immediately.’ If I said it, they would’ve done it. The hostages would’ve been back home, but early on I think a bunch of those hostages were dead.”

He continued, “These were largely young people that were having a good time at a festival. Life was a bowl of cherries, right? And they’re dead. It’s interesting, I don’t know what’s going to happen when they find out there are fewer than they thought. And it could be by a staggering number.”

“You certainly can’t blame Israel for hitting back, and they hit back hard – much harder than anyone would’ve thought.”

Trump also claimed that if he had won the 2020 election, “12 to 15 countries literally within a period of a year” would have joined the Abraham Accords. “I think even Iran would have been in, because Iran was desperate to make a deal,” he said. “They had no money.”

“If I win, that [expanding the Accords] will be an absolute priority,” he added. “It’s peace in the Middle East — we need it.”

John Kelly, the former Marine general who was Trump’s longest-serving chief of staff, gave a bombshell interview two weeks before the election in which he said the former president met the definition of a fascist and confirmed reports that Trump had told him more than once that “Hitler did some good things, too.”

Kelly asked Trump what good things Hitler had done. “‘Well, (Hitler) rebuilt the economy,’” Trump replied. Kelley said, “But what did he do with that rebuilt economy? He turned it against his own people and against the world.” Kelly told Trump: “‘Sir, you can never say anything good about the guy. Nothing.’”

In another conversation, witnesses heard Trump say, “I need the kind of generals that Hitler had....People who were totally loyal to him, that follow orders.” Trump’s campaign denied he ever said it. Kelly, however, recalled Trump bringing up German generals and reminded the president that some tried to kill Hitler three times.

The Battle for Michigan

Muslim voters are just 1% of the population nationally but are concentrated in Michigan, which is a crucial swing state that could determine who becomes president. The possibility that Harris might lose Michigan because of the administration’s policy toward Israel became more serious when a Council on American-Islamic Relations poll released in September showed that 40% of Muslim voters in Michigan supported the Green Party’s Jill Stein. The poll found that 18% chose Trump, and only 12% favored Harris. Biden was estimated to have won 80% of the Muslim vote in 2020. A national poll of Arab Americans released two weeks before the election found that Harris trailed Trump by 45%-43%.

A poll commissioned by the Jewish Democratic Council of America from September 26 to October 2 showed Harris winning 71% of the Jewish vote in the seven swing states. This contradicted the Republican Jewish Coalition’s claims that the race in those states was even and challenged a poll sponsored by the Orthodox Union that reported Harris leading Trump by only 52% to 41%. Trump claimed that polls he did not name showed him winning 40% of the Jewish vote nationally. A CHIP50 poll of Jewish voters (August 30- October 8, 2024) found that, indeed, Trump was favored by 40% of Jews. Orthodox Jews, who comprise about 10% of the Jewish population, favored Trump by 3 to 1.

A NORC poll found that 43% of Jews would be influenced by anti-Semitism. Of those 17% who said they usually vote Democratic would vote Republican, 9% who normally vote Republican said they would vote Democratic.

Harris did not help herself with Jewish or Arab voters when she was interrupted during a rally by a protester who accused her of “investing in genocide.” After twice saying, “I am speaking right now” to silence the protester. As the protester was being escorted from the room by security, he shouted: “Billions of dollars, 42,000 dead. 19,000 children are dead. Why won’t you call it a genocide?”

Harris said, “Look, what he’s talking about, it’s real. That’s not the subject that I came to discuss today, but it’s real.”

Pro-Israel critics immediately accused her of appearing to agree that Israel was engaged in “genocide.” Anti-Israel critics attacked her for failing to condemn Israel.

Trump’s campaign tried to exploit Harris’ weakness with this voting bloc. Lebanese-American businessman Massad Boulos, whose son Michael is married to Trump’s daughter Tiffany, has spearheaded an effort to win over Arab Americans who voted “uncommitted” in the primaries to express their dissatisfaction with the Biden administration’s support for Israel. Some Trump supporters placed ads saying Harris was pro-Israel as part of this campaign.

Trump appealed directly to Arab voters in interviews and social media posts. Speaking to the Saudi-owned Al Arabiya news channel, Trump said, “I want to see the Middle East get back to peace, real peace that’s going to be a lasting peace. I feel that’s going to happen and going to happen soon.”

He posted on Truth Social: “Arab Voters are very upset that Comrade Kamala Harris, the Worst Vice President in the History of the United States and a Low IQ individual, is campaigning with ‘dumb as a rock’ War Hawk, Liz Cheney, who, like her father, the man that pushed Bush to ridiculously go to War in the Middle East, also wants to go to War with every Muslim Country known to mankind…if Kamala gets four more years, the Middle East will spend the next four decades going up in flames, and your kids will be going off to War, maybe even a Third World War, something that will never happen with President Donald J. Trump in charge. For our Country’s sake, and for your kids, Vote Trump for PEACE!”

Just over a week before the election, Trump said he met with local imams near Detroit and brought some Muslim supporters on stage at a rally. He promised to bring peace to the Middle East and said, “That’s all they want.”

The appeal did not appear to win over many uncommitted voters. The Uncommitted National Movement, which started in Michigan and inspired 740,000 people to vote “uncommitted” in primaries nationwide, released a statement condemning Harris and Trump for their positions on the Middle East. While stopping short of endorsing Harris, the movement subtly urged its supporters to vote for her by advising against supporting a third-party candidate, warning that such a move would pave the way for a Trump victory.

Still, if the polls were correct, Arab and Muslim voters were willing to ignore the travel ban from Muslim countries he had promised to reinstate and punish the Democrats for their support for Israel. After decades of the Jewish vote being viewed as critical to electoral success in many elections, it was possible the Arab/Muslim vote could be the difference this time, although it can also be said that if Harris lost a significant percentage of the Jewish vote, that would also be a factor.

Unlike Harris, Trump courted Jews by saying that he speaks to Netanyahu almost every day. “We have a very good relationship,” Trump said at a campaign rally. We’re going to work with them very closely.”

Responding to the Harris campaign efforts to portray him and his supporters as Nazis after several speakers at his Madison Square Garden event made racist and vulgar remarks, Trump said, “I’m not a Nazi. I’m the opposite of a Nazi.” At another rally, he recalled his father used to tell him, “‘Never use the word Nazi, and never use the word Hitler.’ Now we’re called ‘Nazis,’ and I’m called ‘Hitler.’ I’m not Hitler.”

Trump had compared himself to victims of the Nazis after he was indicted on federal conspiracy charges. Michael Wolff wrote in his book, All or Nothing, that “The entire political team, along with panicky lawyers, tried to talk him out of the Nazi references, but Trump was adamant.”

Trump said little during the campaign about how he would address the war in Gaza. Presumably referring to the hostages held by Hamas, he said during the Republican National Convention that those holding American hostages abroad would “pay a very big price” if they weren’t released before he assumed office. He also repeatedly said he wanted Israel to end the war quickly, alarming Israeli officials who feared that if the Israeli timetable didn’t match his expectations, the two leaders might clash. The Times of Israel reported less than a week before the election that Trump had been more explicit and told Netanyahu that he wants Israel to end the war in Gaza by the time he returns to office if he wins.

Campaigning in Michigan with six days left before the election, Trump sought to capitalize on Arab anger toward Harris. As he had throughout the campaign, he did little more than make a declarative statement – “I know many people from Lebanon and we have to get this whole thing over with” – without any context or details about how he thought this could be accomplished.

Trump Is Elected 47th President

In a stunning comeback, Donald Trump won a convincing victory over Vice President Kamala Harris to become the 47th President of the United States and only the second person ever to win a second consecutive term. Netanyahu was the first world leader to congratulate Trump.“Congratulations on history’s greatest comeback!” he said. “Your historic return to the White House offers a new beginning for America and a powerful recommitment to the great alliance between Israel and America. This is a huge victory!”

Arab Americans were taking credit for Harris’s loss in Michigan (48% to 50%), but their vote and the state outcome did not determine the overall winner on November 6, as Trump had 277 electoral votes before the final votes were counted in Michigan. Harris lost for multiple reasons, and the Administration’s position on the Gaza war was not one of them.

Most Israelis cheered the president-elect’s victory based on his policies in his first term. He said very little about his intentions for the second term, and the key architect of his most popular decisions regarding Israel was his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, who said he would not join the new administration. Many of the other senior advisers from his first term opposed Trump’s reelection, so it was unclear who he would appoint to those positions.

His victory speech raised some Jewish eyebrows when he boasted about building “the biggest, the broadest, the most unified coalition...in all of American history.” He said it included “union, non-union, African American, Hispanic American, Asian American, Arab American, Muslim American.” Jews, who preferred Harris by more than two to one, were not mentioned.

In his first conversation with Abbas since 2017, the Palestinian leader congratulated Trump on his victory. Trump reportedly said he would work to end the war in Gaza. They had previously corresponded after the assassination attempt against Trump. Abbas had written to the former president, “Acts of violence must not have a place in a world of law and order,” and Trump responded, “Mahmoud, so nice. Thank you. Everything will be good.”

Trump had three conversations with Netanyahu and will meet with Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Dermer in Mar-a-Lago. As Israel’s ambassador, Dermer had a good relationship with the Trump administration.

Bishara Bahbah, a Palestinian American who served as national chairman of Arab Americans for Trump, claimed the former president told him he recognized Palestinians need a state of their own and that he “100%” supports a two-state solution.

Another Iranian plot to kill Trump was thwarted. One of those charged was an Afghan national living in Tehran; two American citizens were arrested in New York for allegedly surveilling a U.S. citizen of Iranian origin.

Israelis, who overwhelmingly supported Trump, were thrilled by his victory, and some reacted as if he would give Israel carte blanche to fight the war and advance political agendas. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who was persona non grata in Washington during the Biden administration, said he believed Israel would now have an “important opportunity” to “apply Israeli sovereignty to the settlements in Judea and Samaria.” This was part of the Trump peace plan, and Netanyahu was about to unilaterally declare sovereignty before being told that would sink the negotiations for the Abraham Accords.

On December 2, 2024, following the confirmation of American hostage Omer Neutra’s death on October 7, 2023, Trump posted on Truth Social: “Please let this TRUTH serve to represent that if the hostages are not released prior to January 20, 2025, the date that I proudly assume Office as President of the United States, there will be ALL HELL TO PAY in the Middle East, and for those in charge who perpetrated these atrocities against Humanity.”

In an interview with Time, Trump said he thought the problems in the Middle East would be easier to solve than the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Asked if Netanyahu gave him assurances about ending the war in Gaza, Trump said, “I don’t want to say that, but I think he feels...very confident in me, and I think he knows I want it to end. I want everything to end. I want, I don’t want people killed, you know? I don’t want people from either side killed, and that includes whether it’s Russia, Ukraine, or whether it’s the Palestinians and the Israelis.”

Trump equivocated on whether he supported the two-state solution he proposed in his first term. “I support whatever solution we can do to get peace. There are other ideas other than two-state, but I support whatever is necessary to get not just peace but a lasting peace. It can’t go on where every five years you end up in tragedy. There are other alternatives.”

Trump pivoted to criticizing the Biden administration for failing to bring any additional countries into the Abraham Accords. “They didn’t add one country to the Abraham Accords. We had the four countries, very important countries, but that should have been loaded up with Middle Eastern countries,” he said.

He was asked whether he would be willing to let Israel annex the West Bank or whether he would stop him as he did in his first term. Trump said, “We’ll see what happens. Yeah, I did. I stopped him.” He then made a rambling comment that the hostages could be gone. “I think Hamas is probably saying, Wow, the hostages are gone. That’s what they want.”

Trump repeated several times his goal was peace. One completely false claim he made was that “Iran that was not very threatening. They had no money. They weren’t giving money to Hamas. They weren’t giving money to Hezbollah.”

When asked if he trusted Netanyahu, Trump said, “I don’t trust anybody.”

Nevertheless, amid media reports that a hostage deal could be reached before the end of the year, Trump and Netanyahu spoke on December 14. Trump repeated his “hell to pay” threat regarding the release of the hostages.

“It was a very friendly, very warm and very important conversation,” Netanyahu said. “We discussed the need to complete Israel’s victory, and we also spoke at length about the efforts we are making to free our hostages.”

In a press conference less than two weeks from his inauguration, Trump repeated his threat if Hamas did release the Israeli hostages: “If those hostages aren’t back — I don’t want to hurt your negotiation — if they’re not back by the time I get into office, all hell will break out in the Middle East and it will not be good for Hamas, and it will not be good, frankly, for anyone.” He also said that he had spoken to the relatives of hostages who had been killed, asking for his help in recovering their bodies.

Trump’s envoy to the hostage negotiations, Steve Witkoff, said, “I think that we’ve had some really great progress, and I’m really hopeful that by the inaugural, we’ll have some good things to announce on behalf of the president.” Witkoff was due to fly to Doha to participate in the talks.

On January 15, 2025, Israel and Hamas reached an agreement to pause the conflict in Gaza and establish a framework for the phased release of hostages and Palestinian prisoners. The framework is based on the three-phase plan outlined by President Biden in May 2024. However, commentators credited President-elect Trump’s public pressure on Hamas and his inauguration deadline for the successful outcome of the negotiations. They also noted Trump’s pressure on Israel to secure diplomatic achievements early in his second term.

Trump took credit for the result, saying the “EPIC ceasefire agreement could have only happened as a result of our Historic Victory in November, as it signaled to the entire World that my Administration would seek Peace and negotiate deals to ensure the safety of all Americans, and our Allies.” He added he was “thrilled American and Israeli hostages will be returning home to be united with their families and loved ones. With this deal in place, my National Security team, through the efforts of Special Envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, will continue to work closely with Israel and our Allies to make sure Gaza NEVER again becomes a terrorist safe haven. We will continue promoting PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH throughout the region, as we build upon the momentum of this ceasefire to further expand the Historic Abraham Accords.”

Remarks On American Jews, Anti-Semitism, Democrats, and Israel

“I will end the chaos in the Middle East.”

“A vote for Kamala Harris is a vote to obliterate Israel — that’s what’s going to happen. Israel will not exist in two years…”

“I will stand with Israel, and we will return a thing called peace through strength.” (@jacobkornbluh, September 18, 2024)
“If you see what’s happening with Israel and Jewish people right now, there has never been a more dangerous time since the Holocaust if you happen to be Jewish in America.” (Wall Street Journal, August 18, 2024)
“Israel is a tiny little spot compared to these giant massses.” (@ymedad August 16, 2024)
Just like Israel would have never been invaded in a million years by Hamas. You know why? Because Iran was broke with me. I wouldn’t let anybody do business with them. They ran out of money. They were broke. They had no money for Hamas. They had no money for anything. No money for terror.”

“Iran was broke. They had no money for Hamas or Hezbollah, for terror, no money whatsoever.”

“As far as Israel and Hamas, Israel is the one that wants to go. He said the only one who wants to keep going is Hamas. Actually, Israel is the one, and you should [let] them go and let them finish the job. He doesn’t want to do it. He has become like a Palestinian. But, they don’t like him because he is a very bad Palestinian. He is a weak one.” (CNN, June 28, 2024)
“During my term, there were stories that Iran didn’t have the money to give to any—there was very little terrorism. We had none. I had four years of—we had no terrorism.”

“I think that Israel has done one thing very badly: public relations. I don’t think that the Israel Defense Fund or any other group should be sending out pictures every night of buildings falling down and being bombed with possibly people in those buildings every single night, which is what they do.”

“Look, there’s been no president that’s done what I’ve done for Israel. When you look at all of the things that I’ve done, and it starts with the Iran nuclear deal. You know, Bibi Netanyahu begged Obama not to do that deal. I ended that deal. And if they were smart and energetic, other than trying to get Trump, they would have made a deal because they were in bad shape. They should have made a deal with Iran. They didn’t prosecute that. They didn’t make that deal. But I did Golan Heights.”
“Nobody even thought of Golan Heights. I gave them Golan Heights. I did the embassy and in Jerusalem. Jerusalem became the capital. I built the embassy. I even built the embassy. And it’s a beautiful embassy for a lot less money than anybody ever thought possible. And you’ve heard that. But there’s been no president that’s done what I’ve done in Israel. And it’s interesting. The people of Israel appreciate it. I have like a 98%—I have the highest approval
numbers.”

“I had a bad experience with Bibi. And it had to do with Soleimani, because as you probably know by now, he dropped out just before the attack. And I said, “What’s that all about?” Because that was going to be a joint and all of a sudden, we were told that Israel was not doing it. And I was not happy about that. That was something I never forgot. And it showed me something. I would say that what happened on—the October 7 should have never happened.”

“No, it happened on his watch. And I think it’s had a profound impact on him, despite everything. Because people said that shouldn’t have happened. They have the most sophisticated equipment. They had—everything was there to stop that. And a lot of people knew about it, you know, thousands and thousands of people knew about it, but Israel didn’t know about it, and I think he’s being blamed for that very strongly, being blamed. And now you have the hostage situation—And I happen to think that on the hostages, knowing something about the enemy, and knowing something about people, I think you have very few hostages left. You know, they talk about all of these hostages. I don’t believe these people are able or even wanting to take care of people as negotiations. I don’t—I think the hostages are going to be far fewer than people think, which is a very sad thing.”

“I will say this, Bibi Netanyahu rightfully has been criticized for what took place on October 7.”

“Most people thought it was going to be a two-state solution. I’m not sure a two-state solution anymore is gonna work. Everybody was talking about two states, even when I was there. I was saying, “What do you like here? Do you like two states?” Now people are going back to—it depends where you are. Every day it changes now. If Israel’s making progress, they don’t want two states. They want everything. And if Israel’s not making progress, sometimes they talk about two-state solution. Two-state solution seemed to be the idea that people liked most, the policy or the idea that people liked above.”

“There was a time when I thought two states could work. Now I think two states is going to be very, very tough. I think it’s going to be much tougher to get. I also think you have fewer people that liked the idea. You had a lot of people that liked the idea four years ago. Today, you have far fewer people that like that idea.”

“Most people thought it was going to be a two-state solution. I’m not sure a two-state solution anymore is gonna work. Everybody was talking about two states, even when I was there. I was saying, “What do you like here? Do you like two states?” Now people are going back to—it depends where you are. Every day it changes now. If Israel’s making progress, they don’t want two states. They want everything. And if Israel’s not making progress, sometimes they talk about two-state solution. Two-state solution seemed to be the idea that people liked most, the policy or the idea that people liked above.

“There was a time when I thought two states could work. Now I think two states is going to be very, very tough. I think it’s going to be much tougher to get. I also think you have fewer people that liked the idea. You had a lot of people that liked the idea four years ago. Today, you have far fewer people that like that idea.”

“Because children grow up and they’re taught to hate Jewish people at a level that nobody thought was possible. And I had a friend, a very good friend, Sheldon Adelson, who felt that it was impossible to make a deal because the level of hatred was so great. And I think it was much more so on one side than the other, but the level of hatred of Jewish people was so great, and taught from the time they were in kindergarten and before. He felt that—and he was a great dealmaker. He was a very rich man. He was a rich man because of his ability to make deals. And he loved Israel more than anything else. He loved Israel, and he wanted to protect Israel. And he felt that it was impossible to make a deal because of the level of hatred. I disagreed with it. But so far, he hasn’t been wrong.”

Regarding a war with Iran: “I have been very loyal to Israel, more loyal than any other president. I’ve done more for Israel than any other president. Yeah, I will protect Israel.” (Time, April 30, 2024)
“Any Jewish person that votes for a Democrat or votes for Biden should have their head examined.” (New York Times, April 10, 2024)
Israel is “losing the PR war. They’re releasing the most heinous, most horrible tapes of buildings falling down. And people are imagining there’s a lot of people in those buildings … and they don’t like it. And I don’t know why they released, you know, wartime shots like that. … To me, it doesn’t make them look tough.”

His advice to Netanyahu: “get it over with,” and “get back to normalcy.” (Washington Post, April 4, 2024)

“I’m not sure that I’m loving the way they’re doing it. … You have to have a victory, and it’s taking a long time.”
“I have to say this, whatever you can do in terms of November 3 is going to be very important because if we don’t win, Israel is in big trouble.”
“We’re in the Middle East because of Israel.”

“This is really a time that’s very important in the life of Israel and the safety of Israel. And we will do a great job. If the other side gets in all bets are off. I think it’ll be a whole different story. I think it’ll be exactly the opposite.”

“I remember Bibi coming over and begging him, begging him [Obama] to a point of humiliation that please don’t do the Iran deal. He did it. I broke it, but he did it. And yet the Democrats get 75 percent sort of like habit. It’s automatic. I hope you can do better with that. I hope you can explain to people what’s going on.”

“Which really amazes me, and I have to tell you, because I saw a poll that in the last election, I got 25 percent of the Jewish vote and I said here I have a son-in-law and a daughter who are Jewish, I have beautiful grandchildren that are Jewish. I have all of these incredible achievements. I’m amazed that it seems to be almost automatically a Democrat.” (JTA, September 16, 2020)
“When I took office, the Middle East was in total chaos. ISIS was rampaging, Iran was on the rise, and the war in Afghanistan had no end in sight. I withdrew from the terrible, one-sided Iran Nuclear Deal. Unlike many presidents before me, I kept my promise, recognized Israel’s true capital and moved our Embassy to Jerusalem. But not only did we talk about it as a future site, we got it built. Rather than spending $1 billion on a new building as planned, we took an already owned existing building in a better location, and opened it at a cost of less than $500,000. We also recognized Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, and this month we achieved the first Middle East peace deal in 25 years.” (Speech at Republican National Convention, August 27, 2020)
“I could run in Israel, and I think they set up probably a 98% approval rating in Israel....And you know who appreciates it the most are the evangelical Christians. They appreciate it the most.” (JTA, August 24, 2020).
Re protests in Charlottesville: TRUMP: “Excuse me, excuse me. (inaudible) themselves (inaudible) and you have some very bad people in that group. But you also had people that were very fine people, on both sides. You had people in that group -- excuse me, excuse me -- I saw the same pictures as you did. You had people in that group that were there to protest the taking down of, to them, a very, very important statue and the renaming of a park from Robert E. Lee to another name….

TRUMP: George Washington was a slave owner. Was George Washington a slave owner? So, will George Washington now lose his status? Are we going to take down -- excuse me -- are we going to take down -- are we going to take down statues to George Washington?

TRUMP: How about Thomas Jefferson? What do you think of Thomas Jefferson? You like him?

TRUMP: OK. Good. Are we going to take down the statue? Because he was a major slave owner. Now, are we going to take down his statue? So you know what? It’s fine. You’re changing history. You’re changing culture. And you had people, and I’m not talking about the neo-Nazis and the white nationalists, because they should be condemned totally. But you had many people in that group other than neo-Nazis and white nationalists. OK? And the press has treated them absolutely unfairly. Now, in the other group also, you had some fine people, but you also had troublemakers and you see them come with the black outfits and with the helmets and with the baseball bats. You’ve got -- you had a lot of bad -- you had a lot of bad people in the other group…

QUESTION: ... treated unfairly (inaudible) you were saying. You were saying the press has treated white nationalists unfairly? (inaudible) understand what you’re saying.

TRUMP: No, no. There were people in that rally, and I looked the night before. If you look, they were people protesting very quietly the taking down of the statue of Robert E. Lee. I’m sure in that group there were some bad ones. The following day, it looked like they had some rough, bad people -- neo-Nazis, white nationalists, whatever you want to call them. But you had a lot of people in that group that were there to innocently protest and very legally protest, because you know -- I don’t know if you know, they had a permit. The other group didn’t have a permit. So, I only tell you this, there are two sides to a story. I thought what took place was a horrible moment for our country, a horrible moment. But there are two sides to the country (sic).” (Los Angeles Times, August 15, 2017)
“I am the least anti-Semitic person that you’ve ever seen in your entire life.” (Vanity Fair, December 9, 2019)
“The Jewish state has never had a better friend in the White House than your president, Donald J. Trump.”
“You’ve got to be very careful, make no mistake, radical lawmakers who support the BDS movement are advancing anti-Israel and anti-Semitic propaganda. My administration strongly opposes this despicable rhetoric, and as long as I am your president, it makes no difference, it is not happening.”

“I don’t think they [the Obama administration] liked Israel too much, I’m sorry. After eight years of which our alliance was undermined and neglected, I am happy to report the United States-Israeli relationship is stronger now than ever before.”

“I love deals and I was told the toughest of all deals is peace with Israel and the Palestinians. But if Jared Kushner can’t do it, it can’t be done.” (Politico, December 8, 2019)
“[There are Jews who] don’t love Israel enough.”

“A lot of you are in the real estate business, because I know you very well. You’re brutal killers, not nice people at all. But you have to vote for me – you have no choice. You’re not gonna vote for Pocahontas, I can tell you that. You’re not gonna vote for the wealth tax. Yeah, let’s take 100% of your wealth away!” (Vanity Fair, December 9, 2019)
Regarding October 7: “To every Israeli and every American touched by these barbaric activities – we stand with you.”

“We had no problem for four years – this is unthinkable. If you spill a drop of American blood, we will spill a gallon of yours.”

“Every single life that is lost in this conflict is on the shoulders of Hamas and Hamas alone...And I think you have to really add in the word Iran.”

“Under my presidency, I kept Israel safe and the world safe.”

“They’ll be avenged even beyond what you’re thinking about," he said about the Israeli victims of the Hamas attacks.” (Haaretz, October 28, 2023)
“It would show great weakness if Israel allowed Rep. Omar and Rep.Tlaib to visit. They hate Israel & all Jewish people, & there is nothing that can be said or done to change their minds. Minnesota and Michigan will have a hard time putting them back in office. They are a disgrace!” (@realDonaldTrump, Aug 15, 2019)
“Representatives Omar and Tlaib are the face of the Democrat Party, and they HATE Israel!”

“I am only involved from the standpoint of they are very anti-Jewish and they are very anti-Israel. I can’t imagine why Israel would let them in, but if they want to let them in, they can, but I can’t imagine why they would do it.”

“I think it would be a terrible thing, frankly, for Israel to let these two people who speak so badly about Israel to come in.” (Lauren Egan, “Trump urges barring Omar and Tlaib, and Israel agrees, , August 15, 2019)
“I think any Jewish people that votes for a Democrat – I think it shows either a total lack of knowledge or great disloyalty.” Fox News, (August 20, 2019)
“If you vote for a Democrat, you’re being disloyal to Jewish people and you’re being very disloyal to Israel.” (@jeneps Aug 21, 2019)
“Rep Tlaib wants to cut off aid to Israel. This is the new face the of Democrat Party? Read the AOC PLUS 3 statements on their hatred of Jews and Israel. Check out Rep. Omar (the great people of Minnesota won’t stand for this).” (@realDonaldTrump. August 21, 2019)
“Thank you to Wayne Allyn Root for the very nice words. ‘President Trump is the greatest President for Jews and for Israel in the history of the world, not just America, he is the best President for Israel in the history of the world...and the Jewish people in Israel love him....like he’s the King of Israel. They love him like he is the second coming of God...But American Jews don’t know him or like him. They don’t even know what they’re doing or saying anymore. It makes no sense! But that’s OK, if he keeps doing what he’s doing, he’s good for..........all Jews, Blacks, Gays, everyone. And importantly, he’s good for everyone in America who wants a job.’ Wow!” (@realDonaldTrump. August 21, 2019)
Regarding Israel barring two congresswomen from entering Israel because of their support for BDS: “I’m talking about all four but these two that want to get in Omar and Tlaib. And I think it would be a very bad thing for Israel but Israel has to do what they want to do, but I would not cut off aid to Israel, and I can’t even believe that we’re having this conversation. Five years ago, the concept of even talking about this, even three years ago, of cutting off aid to Israel because of two people that hate Israel and hate Jewish people. I can’t believe we’re even having this conversation. Where is the Democratic Party gone, where have they gone, where they’re defending these two people over the state of Israel. And I think any Jewish people that vote for a Democrat. I think it shows either a total lack of knowledge or great disloyalty.” (Fox News, August 20, 2019)
“On my first trip overseas as President, I visited the Holy Land of Israel. I was deeply moved and amazed by what this small country had achieved in the face of overwhelming odds and never-ending threats. The State of Israel comprises only a minuscule amount of land in the Middle East and yet it has become a thriving center of democracy, innovation, culture, and commerce.”

“Israel is a light unto the world. The hearts and history of our people are woven together. The Land of Israel is an ancient home, a sacred place of worship, and a solemn promise to the Jewish people that we will never again repeat history’s darkest hour.”

“As everyone knows, I have done a lot for Israel: moving the United States Embassy to Jerusalem; recognizing –recognizing the Golan Heights – and, frankly, perhaps most importantly, getting out of the terrible Iran nuclear deal….Therefore, it is only reasonable that I have to do a lot for the Palestinians, or it just wouldn’t be fair.” (The White House, January 28, 2020)
“We need more jews [sic] in the U.S. that love Israel. Unfortunately, there are Jews that don’t like Israel. You just lost a great supporter of Israel, (NY Rep.) Elliot Engle. We need more people that love Israel.” (@TheBelaaz, August 9, 2020)

Post-Presidency Comments

“A missile launched by Hezbollah killed at least a dozen children, young children. They were playing on a soccer field in Israeli territory in the Golan Heights, a place that I recognized during my administration as under Israel’s sovereignty. It was a big thing. They’d been trying to get it done for seven years. I got it done in about one hour. The savage Hezbollah terrorists struck these children with an Iranian precision missile. Dozens more were wounded in the attack and sadly the death toll is probably going to going to go very substantially higher. Our hearts go out to the families of these children. Today’s attack on Israeli cannot be forgotten and it will go down as another moment in history created by a weak and ineffective United States president and vice president. They wouldn’t have done this if I were the president. They wouldn’t have done it. And they didn’t.” (CSPAN, July 27, 2024)
Regarding Israel going to war with Hamas: “I would act very much the same way as you did. You would have to be crazy not to. Only a fool would not do that. That was a horrible attack.”

“Israel has to be very careful, because you’re losing a lot of the world, you’re losing a lot of support.”

“In Israel, I get 98 percent of the vote. Not here we have a lot of people in the United States who are Jewish but they actually fight Israel, look at the New York Times. It’s a Jewish family. I think they hate Israel. I watch what they write in the New York Times, it’s hysterical.” (Haaretz, March 25, 2024)
“They hate everything about Israel and they should be ashamed of themselves....The Democrat Party hates Israel…they also see a lot of votes. Don’t forget, when you see those Palestinian marches, even I am amazed at how many people are in those marches. And guys like Schumer see that and to him it’s votes. I think it’s votes more than anything else because he was always pro-Israel. He’s very anti-Israel now.” (Jewish Insider, March 19, 2024)
“Any Jewish person that votes for Democrats hates their religion. They hate everything about Israel and they should be ashamed of themselves because Israel will be destroyed.” (AP, March 19, 2024)
Regarding the war in Gaza: “I think you have to finish it up and do it quickly and get back to the world of peace. We need peace in the world.”

“The Democrats are very bad for Israel. Israel sticks with them. I guess Israel is loyal, maybe to a fault, because they stick with these guys.”

“Biden is so bad for Israel, they should’ve never been attacked. If Biden were good to Israel, they wouldn’t have been attacked.”

“They lost a lot of people on October 7. Maybe he’s forgotten it. He looks at ‘where do I get more votes’ and he’s seeing the Palestinians and the marches - they are big - and he says ‘I want to go that way instead of Israel.’ I don’t know how Israel stays with these people.”

Biden “obviously said ‘I see a lot of people protesting out there, and they happen to be Palestinians or wherever from the Middle East’ and he was probably shocked to see it, and all the sudden he dumped Israel.” (Haaretz, March 17, 2024)
Following the Iowa caucuses, Trump said if he was in office, “Russia would not have attacked [Ukraine], Israel would never have been attacked.”

“The Ukraine situation is so horrible; the Israeli situation is so horrible, what’s happened? We’re going to get them solved, we are going to get them solved very fast.” (JNS, January 16, 2024)
Trump said he would revoke student visas of “radical anti-American and antisemitic foreigners” enrolled in U.S. colleges and universities and deport them. Trump criticized pro-Palestinian protests after the Hamas attack on Israel, and said he would send Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers to what he described as “pro-jihadist demonstrations.”
“If the election wasn’t rigged there would be nobody even thinking about going into Israel.”

“Say what you want; Israel was not ready. This was a big surprise. This was a terrible thing that happened. They weren’t ready.”

Regarding the assassination of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani. “I will never forget that Bibi Netanyahu let us down. That was a very terrible thing. We were very disappointed, but we did the job ourselves, and it was absolute precision, magnificent, beautiful job. Then Bibi tried to take credit for it. That didn’t make me feel too good. But that’s all right.”

“You know, Hezbollah is very smart. They’re all very smart.” (Axios, New York Times, JTA, October 12, 2023)
“It’s a very dangerous thing that’s happening...There’s people in this country that are Jewish and no longer love Israel,” Trump said. “I’ll tell you, the evangelical Christians love Israel more than the Jews in this country.”

“It used to be that Israel had absolute power over Congress, and today I think it’s the exact opposite. And I think Obama and Biden did that,” Trump added. “And yet in the election, they still get a lot of votes from the Jewish people. Which tells you that the Jewish people, and I’ve said this for a long time, the Jewish people in the United States either don’t like Israel or don’t care about Israel.”

Trump said The New York Times “hates Israel” even though “they’re Jewish people that run The New York Times.“ (CNN, December 17, 2021)
“The first person that congratulated [Biden] was Bibi Netanyahu, the man that I did more for than any other person I dealt with. ... Bibi could have stayed quiet. He has made a terrible mistake.”

“F**k him.”

“I liked Bibi. I still like Bibi. But I also like loyalty. The first person to congratulate Biden was Bibi. And not only did he congratulate him, he did it on tape.”

“I can tell you that people were very angry with him when he was the first one to congratulate Biden,” Trump told journalist Barak Ravid. “The video was almost like he’s begging for love. And I said, ’My, my how things change.’ So, you know, I was disappointed. That hurt him badly with the people of Israel. As you know, I’m very popular in Israel. I think it hurt him very badly.” (Salon, December 10, 2021)
“No President has done more for Israel than I have,” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social, adding that “our wonderful Evangelicals are far more appreciative of this than the people of the Jewish faith, especially those living in the U.S.” (CNN, October 16, 2022)
Trump asked whether a documentary filmmaker recording an interview with him last year was a “good Jewish character” and, commenting on his relative popularity with Israeli and American Jews said, “In Israel, I’m at like 94 percent, but I got 27, 28 percent.” He also said, “In Israel, I’m the most popular. With Orthodox, I’m the most popular.” (New York Times, October 19, 2022)
Regarding other Arab countries joining the Abraham Accords, Trump said, “we would have had maybe all of them, that includes Saudi Arabia, within a short time after the election. They haven’t signed any of them. We could have truly had peace in the Middle East.”

“I’ll tell you who does appreciate Israel very much are the evangelicals, because the evangelicals are on your side.” (Haaretz, November 19, 2022)
“How quickly Jewish Leaders forgot that I was the best, by far, President for Israel....They should be ashamed of themselves. This lack of loyalty to their greatest friends and allies is why large numbers in Congress, and so many others, have stopped giving support to Israel.” (Haaretz, December 10, 2022)
“Biden doesn’t like you, that I can tell you....He won’t even see Netanyahu. Netanyahu was the first person to call him — that made me feel great — he was the first person to call, and he won’t even see Netanyahu. That’s how low it’s come.” (Haaretz, July 12, 2023)
“Just a quick reminder for liberal Jews who voted to destroy America & Israel because you believed false narratives! Let’s hope you learned from your mistakes and make better choices moving forward! Happy New Year!” (JTA, September 18, 2023)

Sources: Trump visits with Jordan’s King Abdullah in Washington, Reuters, (February 2, 2017).
“Transcript And Analysis: Trump And Netanyahu Hold Joint Press Conference,” NPR, (February 15, 2017).
Kavita Surana, Dan De Luce and Robbie Gramer, “Israeli Intelligence Furious Over Trump’s Loose Lips,” Foreign Policy, (May 19, 2017).
Peter Baker, Michael Shear, and Ian Fisher, “Trump Comes to Israel Citing a Palestinian Deal as Crucial,” New York Times, (May 22, 2017).
Phillip Rucker and Karen DeYoung. “In Israel, Trump urges new Middle East ‘harmony’ but faces old suspicions,” Washington Post, (May 22, 2017).
Herb Keinon, “Official says Palestinian terror glorification going out of style under Trump,” Jerusalem Post, (May 28, 2017).
Transcript of President Trump’ Remarks at Trump Tower on Charlottesville, (Los Angeles Times, August 15, 2017).
Loveday Morris, “U.S. ambassador breaks with policy: ‘I think the settlements are part of Israel,’” Washington Post, (September 29, 2017).
“U.S. vetoes U.N. Jerusalem resolution, designed to reverse Trump recognition,” CBS News, (December 18, 2017).
Ruth Eglash and Jenna Johnson, “Prospects of peace elusive as Pence wraps up visit to Middle East,” Washington Post, (January 23, 2018).
“President Trump Gives a Statement on Jerusalem,” The White House, (December 6, 2017).
“National Security Strategy of the United States,” The White House, (December 18, 2017).
“PM Netanyahu’s Remarks at the Start of his Meeting with US President Donald Trump,” Israeli Prime Minister’s Office, (September 18, 2017).
Steve Holland. “Exclusive: Trump likes two-state solution, but says he will leave up to Israelis, Palestinians,” Reuters, (February 23, 2017).
Statement by the Press Secretary, (February 2, 2017).
“U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley address to AIPAC Policy Conference,” (March 27, 2017).
Somini Sengupta. “Nikki Haley Calls United Nations Human Rights Council ‘So Corrupt,’” New York Times, (March 29, 2017).
John Hudson Lynch, “Tillerson To U.N. Rights Council: Reform or We’re Leaving,” Foreign Policy, (March 14, 2017).
Margaret Hartmann, “Trump Orders Review of Iran Nuclear Deal, Though Iran Has Been Complying,” New York, (April 19, 2017).
“US-Israel Relations and Obama’s Mixed Legacy Followed by the Uncertainty of Trump,” in Arnold Dashefsky and Ira Sheskin, Eds., American Jewish Yearbook 2017, (CT: Springer, 2018).
Nathan Guttman, “How Payments To Terrorists Became An Issue At The Trump-Abbas Meeting,” Forward, (May 4, 2017).
Herb Keinon, US increased military aid to Israel ahead of Trump visit, Jerusalem Post, (May 25, 2017).
Jack Moore, “Trump Raged At Palestinian Leader Mahmoud Abbas In Bethlehem Meeting: ‘You Lied To Me,’” Newsweek, (May 29, 2017).
Itamar Marcus and Nan Jacques Zilberdik, “Did the PA lie to the US Secretary of State?” Palestinian Media Watch, (June 14, 2017).
“Kushner kicks off Mideast peace push with first solo visit,” Associated Press, (June 21, 2017).
Lahav Harkov, “Palestinians Increase Payments To Terrorists To $403 Million,” Jerusalem Post, (March 6, 2018).
Cristiano Lima, “Trump warns of ‘very severe consequence’ if Iran restarts nuclear program,” Politico, (May 9, 2018).
“Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, Egypt Welcome President Trump’s Withdrawal From JCPOA,” MEMRI, (May 9, 2018).
Tom O’Connor, “Saudi Arabia Says It Will Build Nuclear Bomb If Iran Does,” Newsweek, (May 9, 2018).
National Tracking Poll, Politico, (May 10-14, 2018).
Ori Lewis, “Most foreign envoys absent as Israel, U.S. launch embassy festivities, Reuters, (May 14, 2018).
Mike Pompeo, “After the Deal: A New Iran Strategy,” remarks at the Heritage Foundation, (May 21, 2018).
Philip Gordon and Prem Kumar, “Jared Kushner’s Middle East Fantasy,” The Atlantic, (June 25, 2018).
Jason Lemon, “Saudi Arabia Wants to Be a Nuclear Power and Israel Has Demands, Report Says,” Newsweek, (July 9, 2018).
“New defense budget bill foresees US-Israel counter-drone cooperation,” Defense News, (August 13, 2018).
Mitchell Bard, “American Jews and the International Arena (April 2017 – July 2018): The Gap Between American and Israeli Jews Widens as the Gap Between Governments Narrows,” in Arnold Dashefsky and Ira Sheskin, Eds., American Jewish Yearbook 2018, (CT: Springer, 2019).
Herb Keinon and Tovah Lazaroff, “Netanyahu To Pompeo: Time For The U.S. To Recognize The Golan As Israeli,” Jerusalem Post, (March 20, 2019).
“Pompeo, in first, accompanies Israeli PM to Jerusalem’s Western Wall,” Reuters, (March 21, 2019).
Adam Taylor, “What Trump did to push the Israeli election in Netanyahu’s favor — and what he didn’t do,” Washington Post, (April 9, 2019).
Ron Kampeas, “4 Democratic Presidential Candidates Weighed In On The Gaza Violence,” JTA, (May 6, 2019).
Sam Dorman, “Trump takes on Biden, vows not to let Iran get nuclear weapons during Fox News interview,” Fox News, (May 20, 2019).
Michael Kranish, “Trump says he is not seeking ‘regime change’ in Iran,” Washington Post, (May 27, 2019).
@realDonaldTrump, (May 27, 2019).
Chris Mills Rodrigo, “Trump: Pompeo ‘may be right’ in casting doubt on Middle East plan,” The Hill, (June 2, 2019).
Amir Tibon, “Trump on ‘Messed Up’ Israeli Election: ‘Not Happy, Get Your Act Together,’” Haaretz, (June 3, 2019).
Rym Momtaz, “Macron and Trump (almost) kiss and make up,” Politico, (June 6, 2019).
Interview on Good Morning Britain, (June 5, 2019).
Amir Tibon, “Jewish Groups Rebuke Trump Over Claim That U.S. Jews Voting Democrat Are ‘Disloyal,’” Haaretz, (August 21, 2019).
“Trump Makes It Clear He Meant Jews Voting Democrat Are ‘Disloyal to Israel,’” Haaretz, (August 21, 2019).
“Trump Says He Talked Defense Treaty With Netanyahu, to Be Discussed After Israel’s Election,” Haaretz, (September14, 2019).
“US blocks UN Security Council statement on Israel: source,” Agence-France Presse, (September 5, 2019).
Amir Tibon, “Trump: Gaza Violence ‘Crazy,’ Israel ‘Keeps Having Elections and Nobody Gets Elected,’” Haaretz, (November 12, 2019).
Meridith Mcgraw, “‘Never had a better friend’: Trump touts Israel record at Jewish gathering,” Politico, (December 8, 2019).
Bess Levin, “Trump Goes Full Anti-Semite In Room Full Of Jewish People,” Vanity Fair, (December 9, 2019).
“Remarks by President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu of the State of Israel in Joint Statements,” The White House, (January 28, 2020).
Arie Egozi, “US To Israel: No More Chinese Deals. Pompeo’s Flying Visit,” Breaking Defense, (May 13, 2020).
Lahav Harkov, “Pompeo puts Netanyahu on the spot over China and coronavirus,” Jerusalem Post, (May 13, 2020).
Amos Harel, “It Wasn’t Concern About West Bank Annexation That Brought Pompeo to Israel,” Haaretz, (May 15, 2020).
Jonathan S. Tobin, “Pro-Israel Jews Will Still Vote Trump. Even When He Promotes anti-Semites and Holocaust Deniers,” Haaretz, (May 25, 2020).
Yoram Gabison, “Amid U.S. Pressure, Chinese Firm Loses Tender for Israeli Plant in Sensitive Location,” Haaretz, (May 26, 2020).
Lara Jakes and Michael Crowley, “U.S. to Penalize War Crimes Investigators Looking Into American Troops,” New York Times, (June 11, 2020).
“Secretary Michael R. Pompeo At a Press Availability with Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, Attorney General William Barr, and National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien,” U.S. Department of State, (June 11, 2020).
“Executive Order on Blocking Property Of Certain Persons Associated With The International Criminal Court,” The White House, (June 11, 2020).
“Bolton exit followed bust-up over mooted Trump-Rouhani meeting,” The Guardian, (September 11, 2019).
Herb Keinon, “The message for Israel after the US withdrawal from Syria,” Jerusalem Post, (October 11, 2019).
Gabriel T. Rubin, “Pompeo Scrambles to Reassure Israel Over Syria Withdrawal,” Wall Street Journal, (October 18, 2019).
Amir Tibon, “Trump: Gaza Violence ‘Crazy,’ Israel ‘Keeps Having Elections and Nobody Gets Elected,’” Haaretz, (November 12, 2019).
Seth J. Frantzman, “Bolton: Dermer said Trump’s Syria withdrawal - ‘worst day’ of Trump admin,” Jerusalem Post, (June 21, 2020).
Amir Tibon, “How Bolton, Netanyahu and Pompeo Sabotaged Trump’s Dream of Talks With Iran,” Haaretz, (June 21, 2020).
Kiyoko Metzler And David Rising, “UN agency: Iran violating all restrictions of nuclear deal,” AP, (June 5, 2020).
Omri Nahmias, “Iran experts react to IAEA: ‘It’s time for the world to get involved’,” Jerusalem Post, (June 9, 2020).
Benjamin Weinthal, “German intel report lays bare Iran’s attempts to obtain nuclear proliferation technology,” Fox News, (June 17, 2020).
Chuck Freilich, “Trump Is Failing to Protect Israel Against Iran,” Haaretz, (January 21, 2020).
AIPAC.
“Amid Iran tensions, Israel said to ask US to speed up delivery of air refuelers,” Times of Israel, (July 8, 2020).
“Israel to receive 990 millions gallons of diesel from United States,” Jerusalem Post, (July 8, 2020).
Avital Chizhik-Goldschmidt, “Trump says U.S. needs ‘more Jews that love Israel,’” Forward, (August 10, 2020).
Steve Hendrix and Kareem Fahim, “Israel-UAE deal condemned by Palestinians, cheered by Egypt and Bahrain,” Washington Post, (August 13, 2020).
Charlie Nash, “Trump Lauds UAE-Israel Treaty: ‘We’re Doing Peace in the Middle East,’” Mediaite, (August 17, 2020)
Mitchell Bard, “Carter, Trump and Peacemaking,” Algemeiner, (August 19, 2020).
Ron Kampeas, “Israel, the Trumps, the extremism question: What we’re watching at the RNC,” JTA, (August 24, 2020).
“Despite Public Denial, Netanyahu Privately Let U.S. Sell F-35 to UAE, Report Says,” Haaretz, (September 4, 2020).
Matthew Kassel, “Bob Woodward’s ‘Rage’ paints in-depth portrait of Trump’s foreign policy approach,” Jewish Insider, (September 11, 2020).
Jacob Magid, “US assured UAE it won’t back Israel annexation before 2024 at earliest, ToI told,” Times of Israel, (September 13, 2020).
(Ron Kampeas “On Rosh Hashanah Call, Trump Tells American Jews ‘We Love Your Country’ and Asks for Their Vote,” JTA, (September 16, 2020).
Aaron Blake, “Trump confirms he wanted to assassinate Assad. In 2018, he denied it was even considered,” Washington Post, (September 15, 2020).
Lahav Harkov, “US acts on declaration settlements are legal, extends deal to West Bank,” Jerusalem Post, (October 27, 2020).
Noa Landau, Hagar Shezaf, Shira Kadari-Ovadia, “Netanyahu, Ambassador Friedman Ink Deal Expanding Scientific Cooperation to Settlements,” Haaretz, (October 28, 2020).
Nahal Toosi And Daniel Lippman, “U.S. to allow ‘Israel’ to be added to passports of Americans born in Jerusalem,” Politico, (October 28, 2020).
Michael R. Pompeo, “U.S. Citizens Born in Jerusalem,” Press Statement, State Department, (October 29, 2020).
Joseph Krauss, “Pompeo is 1st top US diplomat to visit an Israeli settlement,” AP, (November 19, 2020).
Lahav Harkov, “Pompeo: US to recognize BDS movement as antisemitic,” Jerusalem Post, (November 19, 2020).
Michael R. Gordon and Gordon Lubold, “Trump Orders Military Shift to Spur Israeli-Arab Cooperation Against Iran,” Wall Street Journal, (January 14, 2021).
Gil Hoffman, “Trump pardons Aviem Sella, Jonathan Pollard’s handler,” Jerusalem Post, (January 20, 2021).
Chaim Levenson, “Trump Administration Order Allowed Release of High-resolution Satellite Imagery of Israeli Nuclear Facility,” Haaretz, (February 26, 2021).
Igor Derysh, “‘F**k him’: Trump not speaking to former ally Bibi Netanyahu — because he congratulated Biden,” Salon, (December 10, 2021).
Maggie Haberman, Confidence Man: The Making of Donald Trump and the Breaking of America, (NY: Penguin Press, 2022).
“Netanyahu Asked Obama to Bomb Iran’s Nuke Installations, Former PM Says in New Book,” Haaretz, (October 14, 2022).
Joe Klein, “What’s the Key to Understanding Donald J. Trump? Start With Queens,” New York Times, (September 28, 2022).
Geoff Brumfiel, “Trump tweeted an image from a spy satellite, declassified document shows,” NPR, (November 18, 2022).
Ben Samuels, “Trump Tells GOP Jews He Would’ve Delivered Israel-Saudi Arabia Peace Deal if 2020 Election Wasn’t ‘Rigged,’” Haaretz, (November 19, 2022).
Jacob Magid, “‘Rigged’ 2020 election prevented Israel-Saudi peace, Trump tells Jewish GOP confab,” Times of Israel, (November 20, 2022).
“‘I Gave Them the Embassy’: Trump Doubles Down After Kanye West, Fuentes Meeting,” Haaretz, (December 1, 2022).
Matthew Boyle, “Trump Denounces Fuentes: ‘Nobody’ That Embraces Antisemitism Has a Place in America First Movement or GOP,” Breitbart, (December 16, 2022).
Ben Samuels, “Trump: Netanyahu Was First to Congratulate Biden, Now Can’t Get Invited to White House,” Haaretz, (July 12, 2023).
Allie Griffin, “Trump campaign compares indictment over 2020 election interference to Nazi Germany,” New York Post, (August 2, 2023).
Jackie Hajdenberg, “Donald Trump wishes happy Rosh Hashanah to ‘liberal Jews who voted to destroy America and Israel,’” JTA, September 18, 2023).
Zachary Basu, “White House, DeSantis slam Trump for calling Hezbollah ‘very smart,’” Axios, (October 12, 2023).
Neil Vigdor, Alyce McFadden and Nicholas Nehamas, “Trump’s Remarks on Hezbollah and Netanyahu Prompt Bipartisan Outcry,” New York Times, (October 12, 2023).
Philissa Cramer, “Trump chastises Israel during Florida rally, saying Israeli leaders should ‘strengthen themselves up,’” JTA, (October 12, 2023).
Ben Samuels, “Trump Hailed at Republican Jewish Summit, Vows to Cancel pro-Palestinian Protesters’ Visas,” Haaretz, (October 28, 2023).
“Trump pledges to solve ‘horrible’ situation in Israel quickly if elected,” JNS, (January 16, 2024).
Ben Samuels, “Trump Says He Would Let Netanyahu Finish the Job in Gaza, Says ‘Biden Is So Bad for Israel,’” Haaretz, March 17, 2024).
Jill Colvin, “Trump says Jews who vote for Democrats ‘hate Israel’ and their religion,” AP, (March 19, 2024).
Ben Samuels, “Trump Warns Israel: ‘You’re Losing a Lot of the World, You’re Losing a Lot of Support,’” Haaretz, (March 25, 2024).
Maegan Vazquez, “Trump urges Netanyahu to ‘get it over with,’ questions Israel’s approach to war in Gaza,” Washington Post, (April 4, 2024).
Michael Gold, “Trump Again Insults Jews Who Support Biden,” New York Times, (April 10, 2024).
“Read the Full Transcripts of Donald Trump’s Interviews With TIME,” Time, (April 30, 2024).
“Biden-Trump debate rush transcript,” CNN, (June 28, 2024).
Ben Finley, “What to know about the attempt on Trump’s life and its aftermath,” AP, (July 15, 2024)
Peter Baker and Julian Barnes, “U.S. Detected Potential Iranian Plot to Kill Trump Separate From Saturday’s Shooting,” New York Times, (July 16, 2024).
Ellen Knickmeyer, Michelle Price, and Stephany Matat, “Netanyahu meets with Trump at Mar-a-Lago, offering measured optimism on a Gaza cease-fire,” AP, (July 26, 2024).
Ron Kampeas, “Trump, meeting with Netanyahu, says we are ‘close’ to World War III because of Biden,” JTA, (July 26, 2024).
“After meeting PM, Trump says Jews who vote Harris ‘should have their head examined,’” Times of Israel, (July 27, 2024).
“Donald Trump on Hezbollah’s Strike on the Golan Heights,” CSPAN, (July 27, 2024).
“Trump says Netanyahu told him Jews vote Democrat out of ‘habit,’” Times of Israel, (July 29, 2024).
Marianne LeVine, “Trump falsely calls Schumer a ‘proud member of Hamas,’” Washington Post, (July 31, 2024).
“Elon Musk and Donald Trump Interview,” Rev, (August 13, 2024).
Ben Sales and Ron Kampeas, “In speech about antisemitism, Trump blames Harris and focuses on anti-Israel forces without mentioning far-right” JTA, (August 16, 2024).
“Trump slams Harris for ‘always demanding ceasefire,’ says he’d deport ‘pro-Hamas thugs,’” Times of Israel, (August 16, 2024).
Editorial Board, “A ‘Dangerous Time’ for Jews,” Wall Street Journal, (August 18, 2024).
@realDonaldTrump, (August 22, 2024).
H.R. McMaster, At War With Ourselves: My Tour of Duty in the Trump White House, (NY: Harper, 2024).
Corey Walker, “Trump Blames Biden, Harris for Death of American-Israeli Hostage as White House Decries ‘Evil’ Hamas,” Algemeiner, (September 2, 2024).
Luke Tress, “‘You’ll never survive’ if Harris wins election, Trump tells Republican Jewish group,” JTA, (September 5, 2024).
Jacob Kornbluh, “With harsh words — in English and Yiddish — Republicans try to win Jewish voters,” Forward, (September 5, 2024).
Riley Hoffman, “Harris-Trump presidential debate transcript,” ABC News, (September 10, 2024).
Ron Kampeas, “Donald Trump’s pro-Israel supporters take issue with his prediction of its potentially imminent demise,” JTA, (September 11, 2024).
Ron Kampeas, “Do Donald Trump and Kamala Harris identify as ‘Zionist’? Here’s what their campaigns told us,” JTA, (September 12, 2024).
@jacobkornbluh, (September 18, 2024).
Jacob Kornbluh, “Trump says Jews would deserve much of the blame if he loses,” Forward, (September 19, 2024).
Ron Kampeas, “At antisemitism event, Trump says ‘the Jewish people would have a lot to do with the loss’ if he is defeated,” JTA, (September 19, 2024).
Alec Hernández, Vaughn Hillyard, Isabelle Schmeler, and Sahil Kapur, “At a ‘fighting antisemitism’ event, Trump says Jewish voters will bear ‘a lot’ of blame if he loses,” NBC News, (September 19, 2024).
“Trump tells Jewish voters he will stand up for them,” Fox News, (September 19, 2024).
@JGreenblattADL, (September 20, 2024).
“American Jewish Committee Responds to Trump Statement on Jewish Vote,” American Jewish Committee, (September 20, 2024).
“RJC Applauds President Donald J. Trump’s Speech on Antisemitism, Highlighting His Support for the Jewish Community and Israel,” Republican Jewish Coalition, (September 20, 2024).
Jacob Magid and Alexander Fulbright, “Top US Jewish groups, Biden and Harris slam Trump for saying Jews to blame if he loses,” Times of Israel, (September 21, 2024).
Hugh Hewitt, “Former President Trump On The Anniversary Of The 10/7 Massacre In Israel,” Hugh Hewitt & Duane Patterson, (October 7, 2024).
Jonathan Weisman, “Pro-Palestinian ‘Uncommitted’ Group Comes Out Firmly Against Trump,” New York Times, (October 8, 2024).
Ron Kampeas, “Democratic poll shows 71% of Jewish voters across 7 swing states favor Kamala Harris,” JTA, (October 9, 2024).
“Jewish American Views on the 2024 Election (Part I),” CHIP50, (October 2024).
Michelle Boorstein, “Harris and Trump vie for Jewish voters unsettled by Israel-Gaza conflict,” Washington Post, (October 14, 2024).
Rachel Fink “‘It’s Real’: How Two Words by Kamala Harris Set Off a Firestorm About Genocide in Gaza,” Haaretz, (October 20, 2024)
Ben Samuels, “Trump Plays Up U.S.-Israel Tensions Ahead of Election,” Haaretz, (October 21, 2024).
Matthew Kassel, “Trump says expanding Abraham Accords will be ‘absolute priority’ if he wins election,” Jewish Insider, (October 21, 2024).
Michael S. Schmidt, “As Election Nears, Kelly Warns Trump Would Rule Like a Dictator,” New York Times, (October 22, 2024).
Jeffrey Goldberg, “Trump: ‘I Need the Kind of Generals That Hitler Had,’” Atlantic, (October 22, 2024).
Ben Samuels, “Inside Trump’s Newfound Enthusiasm for Arab Voters,” Haaretz, (October 22, 2024).
“‘Bibi called’: Trump claims to speak with Netanyahu on near daily basis,” Times of Israel, (October 24, 2024).
“Trump invites Muslim leaders onstage, as he and Harris woo Michigan voters troubled by Gaza,” Reuters, (October 27, 2024).
Philissa Cramer, ‘I’m not a Nazi. I’m the opposite of a Nazi,’ Donald Trump says at Georgia rally,” JTA, (October 29, 2024).
Jacob Magid, “Trump told Netanyahu he wants Gaza war over by time he enters office — sources,” Times of Israel, (October 30, 2024).
Ben Sales, “Trump says ‘I’m not Hitler’ as campaign enters final days,” JTA, (October 31, 2024).
“Trump, in battleground Michigan, says we have to get Lebanon conflict over with,” Reuters, (November 1, 2024).
Jacob Magid, “In scene unimaginable 4 years ago, Michigan’s Arab Americans bask in aiding Trump win,” Times of Israel, (November 6, 2024).
“‘History’s greatest comeback!’ Netanyahu leads Israeli politicians’ congrats to Trump,” Times of Israel, (November 6, 2024).
Ron Kampeas, “Donald Trump thanked a ‘historic coalition’ for his election. He didn’t include Jews,” JTA, (November 6, 2024).
Barak Ravid, “Trump tells Palestinian president he wants to end Gaza war,” Axios, (November 8, 2024).
Rachel Fink, “Arab Americans for Trump Chairman Claims Two-state Promise From President-elect,” Haaretz, (November 10, 2024).
Hannah Rabinowitz, “DOJ announces charges in Iranian plot to kill Donald Trump,” CNN, (November 9, 2024).
Sam Sokol, “Smotrich says Trump’s victory an opportunity to ‘apply sovereignty’ in the West Bank,” Times of Israel, (November 11, 2024).
@realDonaldTrump, (December 2, 2024).
“Transcript of Donald Trump’s 2024 Person of the Year Interview With TIME,” Time, (December 12, 2024).
“Netanyahu says he held ‘friendly’ talks with Trump over Syria and Gaza hostages,” The Guardian, (December 15, 2024).
Ben Sales, “Trump again threatens ‘all hell will break out’ over hostages as envoy signals optimism on a deal,” JTA, (January 7, 2025).
Ronen Bergman, Itamar Eichner, Einav Halabi, Lior Ben-Ari, “Agreement Reached on Hostage Deal Details,” Ynet, (January 15, 2025). [Hebrew]
@realDonaldTrump, (January 15, 2024).
Peter Beaumont, “‘A stern message’: how return of Trump loomed over Gaza ceasefire negotiations,” Guardian, (January 15, 2025).
Philissa Cramer, “Miriam, Jared, Josh: 5 Jewish takeaways from Michael Wolff’s insider account of the 2024 Trump campaign,” JTA, (February 26, 2025).

About Mitchell Bard

Trump and Israel