Republican front-runner Donald Trump took to the stage on Monday to deliver a speech to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) where he was met with perhaps the coolest response of any of the four presidential hopefuls who appeared.
The welcoming was not surprising given that Trump, who has flip-flopped on everything from immigration, to women’s rights, to the invasion of Iraq, has had a similarly uneven history when it comes to supporting America’s biggest ally.
Trump, who had previously said he hoped to be “neutral” on any Israel-Palestine conflict and who reiterated that position as recently as an hour before his speech in an interview with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, quickly abandoned said neutrality in a series of sharp critiques of the Palestinian Authority, saying at one point that Palestine creates a “culture of hatred that has been fermenting for years” and that Israel “does not pay its children to stab random Palestinians.”
Trump also took aim at the current administration’s notably cooler relationship with Israel, saying:
“When I become president, the days of treating Israel like a second-class citizen will end on day one.”
Trump’s rivals were quick to point out the apparent inconsistencies in the billionaire businessman’s statements, with rival Sen. Ted Cruz saying:
“As president I will not be neutral. America will stand unapologetically with the nation of Israel.”
Former Secretary of State Hilary Clinton also took aim at Trump, saying:
“We need steady hands, not a president who says he’s neutral on Monday, pro-Israel on Tuesday and who knows what on Wednesday because everything is negotiable.”
Trump’s statements to AIPAC were also notable for being the first he has delivered via teleprompter since his campaign announcement, something he also vowed never to do.
All of the presidential hopefuls, with the exception of Sen. Bernie Sanders, who said he had a scheduling conflict, gave speeches to the powerful pro-Israel lobbying group.
Featured image from Michael Vadon at Wikimedia Commons, available under an Attribution-ShareAlike license.
