On Thursday evening, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump spoke at the Israeli American Council conference held in Washington, DC. He was accompanied by late philanthropist Sheldon Adelson’s widow Miriam Adelson, who is known to have donated approximately $100 million to his campaign and is a major supporter of the IAC.
Trump said: Just yesterday, Kamala Harris reaffirmed her support for blocking major arms shipments to Israel. She’s blocking them. If these are the positions Kamala Harris takes before the election, just wait to see what she would do after the election—you won’t have a country left. Israel will be doomed. I really mean that—Israel will be doomed.
I said to Miriam today, “You know, they have to go through a little tough love here today because we have to tell the facts.” Israel will not exist within two years if she becomes president. What a difference a president makes—a big difference.
Just four years ago, when I left office, the United States and Israel were safer, closer, and stronger than they had ever been before—by far.
Here’s a partial transcript of Trump’s speech, arranged according to themes with some edits for comprehension:
ON JEWS WHO VOTE DEMOCRAT
This is the most important election in the history of the United States, and it’s also the most important election in the history of Israel. Can you imagine that a non-Israeli election is the single most important election that Israel will ever have? Isn’t that something?
With all I have done for Israel, I received only 24% of the vote in 2016. I thought I’d do much better. I happen to have a Jewish daughter, a Jewish son-in-law, and three Jewish grandchildren. I thought I’d do much better, but I only got 24%. Think of that.
Then I became President of the United States and was the best president ever for Israel and the Jewish people—by far. Nobody was better. I gave them the Golan Heights, I established the Abraham Accords, I recognized the capital of Israel, and opened the embassy in Jerusalem. Most importantly, I terminated the Iran nuclear deal, which was the worst deal ever made in the history of Israel and the Middle East.
I was there for four years and gave them billions and billions of dollars. I was the best friend Israel ever had. Still, in 2020, after all these accomplishments, Jewish people had no excuse. I went from 24% to 29%. Think of that. Honestly, you didn’t treat yourselves well—it was a terrible thing.
What made me even more upset is that the current polling has just been announced. I’m now polling at about 40%. That means 60% of Jewish people are going to vote for Kamala or a Democrat. Honestly, you ought to have your heads examined. Those votes may be necessary for us to win—I say “us” because we’re in this together.
But who are these people—the 60% that would vote? I really believe that very bad things are going to happen. I’ll put it to you very simply and gently: I wasn’t treated properly by the voters who happen to be Jewish. Do they know what the hell is happening? If I don’t win this election, the Jewish people would really have a lot to do with that. At 40%, that means 60% of the people are voting for the enemy.
ON THE US AND ISRAEL
There is a sacred bond between the United States and Israel, but it’s a bond that’s in serious trouble. There’s never been anything like it. I believe that we are closer to World War III than at any time in the history of this country since the Second World War. There’s never been anything like this period of time that we’re going through, and we have leaders that are grossly incompetent—they have no idea what’s happening.
In less than three weeks, we will mark the one-year anniversary of the deadliest attack on the Jewish people since the Holocaust. On October 7th, Hamas terrorists slaughtered more than 1,000 Israelis, including men, women, children, and even little beautiful babies. They tortured, wounded, kidnapped, and horribly maimed thousands more. What a horrible time.
The unthinkable could not have happened if I was President—it would not have happened. You know that Iran had no money; there was no money for terror. Twenty-eight terror organizations, including Hezbollah and Hamas, had no money. There were lots of stories about it. We had no terrorism during the Trump Administration—remember that.
Tonight, we honor the memory of all who lost their lives in the October 7th attacks, and we pray to God that Israel will redeem their deaths with ultimate victory over those who wish to destroy.
This evening, we repeat the vow that we have kept in our hearts since that terrible day in October: never again. Never again. This should never have happened. Weak leadership in the United States allowed this to happen, and it should never have happened. It’s so sad to see.
One year after the horrific massacre, we are instead threatened with a different future—one in which October 7th happens again and again. We have to recognize this reality. I am here tonight to deliver an urgent warning to Jewish Americans and to every friend of Israel all around the world. And you have so many Christian friends—they love Israel. It’s so important.
ON CHRISTIANS WHO LOVE JEWS
I have so many Christian friends, and when I first started running, I will tell you a story—maybe I shouldn’t, but I will.
I was campaigning in 2015 in Iowa, in a very Christian area, and there were about 6,000 people. It was in a church with very religious Christians. The minister and a few others were there, and they said, “Sir, would you please say something great about Israel?”
I asked, “Say it again? Say it again?” because I didn’t realize—back in the old days, it wasn’t like this. I thought, “If I say something good about Israel, that’s not a positive for this particular group, is it?” They replied, “No sir, if you say something good about Israel, they’ll love you.” I thought, “My, my, my, how things have changed. How things have changed, right Miriam?”
I was a little bit circumspect, to put it mildly, but I went out there, and that place went wild. They liked me right from the beginning—I don’t know why, maybe people have bad taste, but they liked me right from the start. So, I said, “We love Israel, we will save Israel, and we will fight with Israel,” and the place went wild. I thought, “What the hell is going on? They love Israel!”
Sometimes, I hate to say it, they love Israel much more than Jewish people in New York love Israel. Alan Landers knows that—they really do. It’s an amazing thing, and that’s when it really started; it was incredible.
You have Christians, especially Evangelical Christians, who love Israel so much, and it’s great to see that. It’s great to see it.
ISRAEL IS DOOMED IF HARRIS WINS
If we continue down our current path with four more years of Kamala—and I don’t say Harris because when I say Harris, nobody knows who the hell I’m talking about—we’re in serious trouble. I just mentioned it to another group. Miriam has me working hard here; I’ve got this group, that group, but this is the big one, right, Miriam? This is the big one—but don’t worry, I said that to the last group also. She’s got me working hard, but it’s sort of interesting when you look at what we’re doing and how important a mission we’re on.
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. And I hate to say it, but it’s total annihilation—that’s what you’re talking about. You don’t have a protector. You have a big protector in me, but you don’t have a protector on the other side.
I’ve said it long and loud, especially over the last few years: Anybody who’s Jewish, loves being Jewish, and loves Israel is a fool if they vote for a Democrat. But beyond that, if they love Israel, anyone who votes for a Democrat—or especially Kamala—is making a big mistake because this is the worst we’ve ever had. This one makes Barack Hussein Obama look like he loved Israel by comparison.
You should have your head examined because Israel will face an unceasing, bloody war to obliterate the Jewish State and drive Jews out of the Holy Land. That’s what they want to do—they want to drive Jews out of the Holy Land, and they are not forgiving people. You found that out on October 7th.
THIS COULD NOT HAPPEN UNDER PRESIDENT TRUMP
By the way, when Trump was President, you had no problems, did you? None. You had no problems. You ever think of that? I wanted to tell Israel that numerous times during my presidency, but I didn’t want to say that and then have something bad happen. But nothing bad was going to happen—they didn’t have the money to prosecute the war. Nothing was going to happen. We had everything in check, beautifully in check.
And by the way, Russia would have never attacked Ukraine either, just so you know. We wouldn’t have had inflation. We wouldn’t have had that horrible situation in Afghanistan, where we lost 13 great soldiers and left behind $85 billion worth of brand-new, beautiful military equipment that I bought—beautiful stuff. They just gave it away.
We wouldn’t have left American hostages behind—remember that. All of that wouldn’t have happened. Think of it: October 7th would not have happened. And we wouldn’t have had inflation, which was started by a stupid oil policy and reckless spending. We would have never had inflation, which has destroyed many families.
Let me spell out bluntly the danger of four more years of weakness in this White House. If Kamala is reelected, Iran will quickly obtain nuclear weapons—they’re already about ready to do it. And you know, they were so broke. I had sanctions in place: anybody that did any business with Iran could not do business with the United States.
I told President Xi of China, “If you do business with Iran—if you buy one barrel of oil from Iran—you’re not doing any more business with the United States, and I’m going to put on tariffs at 200%.” And China didn’t buy anything. Other countries followed suit. Iran was ready to make a deal; they weren’t spending money because they didn’t have the money to spend.
During this period of time, you didn’t have a single strike. Nothing happened—it was a beautiful time. Not a single strike. Thank you very much.
ON IRAN
So, Iran will quickly obtain nuclear weapons capable of killing millions of people—Jewish and non-Jewish alike. There’s no discrimination with nuclear weapons, as you know. The power is unbelievable, and I know because I renovated, fixed, and bought brand-new nuclear weapons. We now have the greatest nuclear stockpile, but I hated to do it because the devastation is unmatched. This could be World War III if it happens, and we’re relying on stupid people.
If it happens, this will not be two army tanks going back and forth and shooting. This will be obliteration—world obliteration. We have to get back to common sense, and we have to get back to good leaders who are respected by the other side. Our leaders are not respected by Russia, China, or Kim Jong-un of North Korea. Frankly, they’re not respected by anybody.
From behind this nuclear shield, the regime will be free to unleash its militant terror brigades, turning the Jewish homeland into hell on Earth. They’ve already started with October 7th. Rockets will rain down from above until the Iron Dome has been exhausted. The Iron Dome is great, but when you send too many missiles, it can’t keep up—it becomes exhausted. They send garbage into the air just to exhaust it. Eventually, there are no missiles left to protect, and that’s when it begins.
Terrorist death squads will conduct constant raids into Israeli territory from all sides, going door to door, torturing, raping, kidnapping, and massacring innocent civilians. This is what it is, and you know that better than anybody because you just saw it a year ago. Tel Aviv and Jerusalem will become unlivable war zones as suicide attacks grind life to a halt.
AMERICA UNDER A 2ND TRUMP TERM
You know, Trump was right—I was right on everything. She made up all these stories, the bloodbath story. She made up all of these stories. It’s disgraceful, and that’s the problem we have—we have a fake media. So, we have to fight harder, we have to be stronger, and we have to be much smarter.
And by the way, Israel and Jewish people are attacked by the media in ways I can’t even believe. The New York Times is controlled by a Jewish family, and I don’t think there’s anybody worse to Israel than the New York Times. I read articles about Israel that I know are false—the New York Times and many others.
So, my message today is very simple: If you want Israel to survive, you need Donald J. Trump as the 47th President of the United States. It’s very simple.
Under my leadership, America will once again stand shoulder to shoulder with our friend and ally, the state of Israel. Right now, all they do is fight the state of Israel: “Don’t do this, don’t do that.” The same people who gave us Afghanistan are telling you what to do. By the way, every one of those generals should have been fired. I knocked out ISIS in four weeks—it was supposed to take five years. I had great generals; we have the greatest army in the world, but not the people that are on television. These are people that don’t know what the hell they’re doing—they should have all been fired.
I will support Israel’s right to win its war on terror, and it has to win it fast. Please win it fast. Win it, but you have to win it fast if you can. I will always defend Israel’s fundamental right to exist as a Jewish nation in the Jewish homeland—that’s what it’s about, isn’t it?
But remember this: You’re under attack like never before. There’s never been a time like this that people can remember. This was a period they say, if you read, and I find it very interesting, just before the Holocaust—I think there’s a very great similarity because nobody can believe what’s been happening.
AMERICA UNDER PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS
If Kamala Harris wins, instead of the most pro-Israel President ever, which I have been declared to be, you will have the most anti-Israel President by far—far worse than Barack Hussein Obama. Over the past 12 months, Kamala Harris has repeatedly demanded an immediate ceasefire to save Hamas. She wants to save Hamas.
Meanwhile, she and Biden deployed US military resources to build a $230 million pier to resupply Hamas. The pier didn’t work out too well; every time there was a little rough weather, the thing got ripped apart. Those of you in the real estate business know what I’m going to say—those contractors made a hell of a lot of money. $230 million, and every time there’s a little rain, it blew apart. Wonderful job. This was not General Patton’s bridge—General Patton knew how to build them. He built them fast and cheap.
Kamala Harris has even suggested that she would consider imposing a full arms embargo against Israel.
We had no terrorist attacks in the United States. Think of it—I’m talking about the United States, if that’s okay. We had no terrorist attacks for four years—nothing, nothing. They knew: don’t play games with us. We will deport the foreign jihad sympathizers and Hamas supporters from our midst. We will get them out. If you hate America and want to eliminate Israel, we will throw you out of our country so rapidly your head will spin.
We’re going to get those beautiful kids back—in some cases, they’re always your children. They’ll say, “Oh, he said children.” No, no—they’re always your children, and some old people, too. But we’re going to get them back. We can’t let this happen again.
It’s incredible that so many people made the trip. It makes me realize how important this is, frankly, for so many people. There’s nothing more important than what you’re going through and the people that you love. It will be so beautiful to see it work out well. We’ve got to make it work out well.
We must confront the crisis of anti-Semitism at our universities. I will tell college presidents that they must end the antisemitic propaganda, or they will lose their accreditation and all federal support.
Thank you very much. Thank you.
