Trump Discusses Israel Relations During Turning Point Event: 'I Stood Proudly With Our Friend'
During the Turning Point Action 'Believers Summit', on Friday, in West Palm Beach, Florida, former President Donald Trump delivered remarks on foreign relations in the Middle East.
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NewsTranscript
00:00In my first term, I defended, like nobody, Christians against hate and bigotry.
00:07Nobody did what I did.
00:08And Marxist aggression — no president has ever done what I've done for Christians
00:14before.
00:15I restored religious liberty for doctors, nurses, teachers, and faith groups like the
00:21beautiful Little Sisters of the Poor.
00:24We defended them very strongly.
00:26I stopped the IRS from using the Johnson Amendment — that's a vicious — that's
00:30after Lyndon Johnson, who had a problem with a certain pastor in Houston, didn't like
00:36him.
00:37So he passed an amendment.
00:38It was a disaster.
00:40To interfere with pastors' freedom of speech, he wouldn't let pastors even discuss anything
00:45having to do with politics.
00:47And if they did do that, they'd take away their tax-exempt status.
00:51So pastors were afraid, because they need the tax-exempt status in order to do what
00:56they have to do.
00:57And we want to listen to our pastors.
00:58We don't want them to be silenced, because these pastors are incredible people.
01:03That's right.
01:04I'd listen to you.
01:09Sometimes I don't listen well enough, though, I will say.
01:13You know, Franklin Graham — you probably heard me say this, I said it a couple of times
01:17— but he's a great guy and always been a supporter of mine.
01:21He was never a supporter of people politically, probably can't be, but he was always a supporter
01:25and openly.
01:27But he wrote me a letter a few weeks ago.
01:31He said, President Trump, I love listening to your stories.
01:35You're a great storyteller.
01:36That was very nice.
01:37He said, but please, if it's possible, it'll be even better, don't use foul language.
01:44He told me, please, do away with foul language.
01:48If you don't use foul language, it will be even better.
01:53And I thought about it.
01:54And I tried it for a couple of nights, actually.
01:57Actually, it didn't work out so well.
02:01It was — you know, when I get to the punchline, I'm ready to use that one word, just one.
02:06Franklin, one word.
02:09And then I use a politically correct word, and the whole thing just falls flat.
02:17But I try.
02:18I'm trying, Franklin.
02:19I'm telling you now.
02:20He's a good man.
02:21He's a good man.
02:22He's a good man.
02:23He's a good man.
02:24He's a good man.
02:25I issued guidance making clear that the right to freedom of worship does not end at the
02:30door of a public school.
02:32We know that.
02:34I was the first and only president to convene a meeting at the United Nations to end religious
02:39persecution worldwide.
02:41That's the first president to do it.
02:42They didn't want to get into it.
02:46All of these very religious precedents that you've had — you know, religious in quotes
02:51— they said, no, we'll pass on that.
02:53But I went and I did it, and I was proud to do it.
02:55For four years, I stood proudly with our friend and ally, the state of Israel.
03:07And for them, and us, I withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal.
03:11We left Iran weak, broke, and unable to fund terror.
03:16And we would have had a deal if the election weren't rigged and stolen.
03:21We would have had a deal within the first week after the election.
03:25Instead, Iran is now a very wealthy country.
03:27They were a poor country.
03:29I said, nobody can buy from them.
03:30If you buy from them, you can't do business with the U.S.
03:34And China didn't buy, and nobody bought.
03:36And they didn't have the money to give to Hamas and Hezbollah.
03:41They had no money.
03:42They were broke.
03:43And yet, a congressman was on a show called Deface the Nation.
03:47Do you know?
03:48Ladies and gentlemen, it's Deface the Nation.
03:53You know, they spend millions of dollars with people to try and build up their name.
03:57And then Trump comes up, makes a speech — look at all the television — Trump comes up,
04:01makes a speech, and you go deface the nation.
04:03So much for that PR campaign.
04:05But it's true.
04:06It is a defacing of the nation in many cases.
04:08The others are no different.
04:09ABC, NBC, CBS — they're all bad.
04:13But you know, we have to bring back an honest press.
04:16If we don't bring back honesty in our press, this whole thing is not going to work.
04:24But I kept my promise, recognized Israel's eternal capital, and opened the American embassy
04:29in Jerusalem.
04:30It was a big deal.
04:32And got it built for $2 billion under budget.
04:37Took an old building and reconverted it for peanuts using Jerusalem stone.
04:43Friend of mine said, oh, I love Jerusalem stone.
04:45He's in New York.
04:46Big, big, rich guy.
04:48Every time I walk into his office, do you know what this is?
04:51I know it's Jerusalem stone.
04:52You tell me every time, oh, it comes from Jerusalem.
04:55So now I'm building — I want to — I not only wanted to get it going, but I want to
05:00build it because I know I can get it built fast.
05:03And they had a building already.
05:04They were going to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to buy a site in Jerusalem.
05:07I said, wait a minute, don't we have something?
05:10We checked.
05:11Yeah, we always do, because we were there a long time ago.
05:12We were there sort of first, always by the post office, like I did in Washington.
05:17If you get a post office, it's always the first building that they put in years ago.
05:21It's always the best location.
05:22So I said, do we have anything yet?
05:24I said, hey, listen to the people.
05:27We're going to spend $2 billion on building an embassy.
05:31I said, how much do you think we can do it for?
05:34He said, we think we can do it for $350,000, so just — we're going to take an old building
05:38and reconvert it.
05:39I said, 300 — it's the only time I ever said this.
05:42I said, you know, honestly, it's too low.
05:45It sounds too cheap.
05:47I've never done that before.
05:48Usually, I say, okay, let's make it 300, right?
05:51Let's make it 250.
05:52But I said, I think it's too cheap.
05:54It sounds terrible.
05:56Do it for under $500,000.
05:57Yes, sir.
05:58I said, any chance we can use Jerusalem stone?
06:02A friend of mine says it's very expensive.
06:05He goes, absolutely, sir.
06:06It's all over the place.
06:07We're in Jerusalem.
06:08So we built the whole thing out of Jerusalem stone.
06:13Can you believe it?
06:14And got it done for nothing.
06:15And it's beautiful.
06:16It's a beautiful embassy.
06:21And that was the capital of Israel.
06:25Every president for decades and decades promised that they were going to do that — capital
06:30of Israel, Jerusalem.
06:33But I even got the building built.
06:34And we got it built.
06:35We had a beautiful opening.
06:36I went.
06:37It was a beautiful opening.
06:39And I had a young lady named Ivanka there.
06:43We had our great First Lady there.
06:46We had a lot of my children, a lot of my friends.
06:50It was a beautiful opening.
06:52Remember?
06:53It was always going to be a disaster if you do that.
06:55And every president was going to do it.
06:56They got to the office.
06:57They go into the White House.
06:59All of a sudden, they get hit by every — they
07:03never did it.
07:04They never could get it off.
07:05I understand it.
07:06The tremendous pressure not to do it.
07:07But I got it done.
07:08I got the building built.
07:09And it was a great thing.
07:10We opened it.
07:11And there were no problems.
07:12You know?
07:13People said there were going to be big problems.
07:14There would be bloodshed all over the Middle East.
07:16It never happened.
07:17It never happened.
07:19And we had it recognized, Jerusalem, as the capital of Israel.
07:24It was a great thing.
07:25It was a great day, actually.
07:26I also recognized Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights.
07:30I never even said I was going to do it.
07:32I mean, the fact is, I've done more for Israel, by far, than any other president.
07:38Not even close.