Donald Trump embraces transfer of US embassy to Jerusalem
In an interview with the Brody Report, the 2016 US presidential candidate asserted that he was 100% behind moving the US embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
During the interview, which took place at Liberty Univeristy in Lynchburg Virginia, in response to David Brody bringing up the fact that Republican presidential candidates Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio both supported moving the American embassy to Jerusalem, Trump asserted: “Well I am for that one hundred percent. We are for that one hundred percent.”
The Jerusalem Embassy Act, passed in 1995 with overwhelming support in the House and Senate, called for the relocation of the US embassy to Jerusalem to take place no later than fiscal year 1999. But it has been waived by every President since them, citing US national security concerns.
Trump also brought up the 2015 nuclear deal signed by the US and other world powers with Iran, asserting to the Brody Report that “I just see what is happening and I am so saddened by this Iran deal. It’s one of the worst deals I’ve ever seen under any circumstances, any deal, not just deals between nations. I think it’s a tremendous liability to Israel. I think it’s going to actually lead to nuclear proliferation and it’s going to cause a lot of problems.”
The presidential candidate told the Brody Report that he would be very good to Israel and harshly criticized US President Barack Obama’s policies regarding Israel: “We have a president that I think is the worst thing that has ever happened to Israel. But I will be backing it very strongly. They’re our best ally. They’re our best ally in the Middle East. They’ve really been loyal to us. We have not been loyal to them.”
Trump declined to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital in December, when the question was posed at the Republican Jewish Coalition's 2016 presidential forum.
