Former President Trump told a private meeting of donors in New York earlier this month that he will stop the “radical revolution” on American college campuses if he is re-elected president.
The presumptive Republican nominee also vowed to throw foreign students protesting against Israel “out of the country,” The Washington Post reported Tuesday, citing donors who spoke on condition of anonymity. The meeting took place on May 14 and included “98 percent of my Jewish friends,” Trump joked.
“One thing I do is, any student who protests, I throw him out of the country. You know, there are a lot of foreign students. Once they hear that, they're going to behave,” Trump said. to the Post.
When donors expressed concern that anti-Israel students and professors would one day hold positions of power in the US, Trump reportedly said they were part of a “radical revolution.”
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Former President Donald Trump on May 23, 2024 in the Bronx, New York City. (Andrea Renault/Star Max/GC Images)
“It must be stopped now,” Trump said of the protests, praising the way New York police handled the Columbia University encampment and adding that other cities should follow suit.
“Well, if you get me elected, and you really should, if you get me re-elected, we're going to set that movement back 25 or 30 years,” he said, according to donors who spoke to the Post. .
Trump also reportedly told wealthy New York donors at the closed-door event that he supports Israel's right to continue “its war on terror” and praised his White House's policies toward Israel.
However, Trump did not mention Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by name. He reportedly hasn't spoken to Netanyahu in years since the Israeli prime minister recognized President Biden's 2020 victory.
The presumptive Republican presidential nominee has faced pressure from Republican donors in recent months to take a stronger stance in support of Israel and Netanyahu in particular.
Notably, in April, Trump said during an interview with conservative talk radio host Hugh Hewitt that Israel, regarding its war in Gaza, “needs to put an end to it, and let's return to peace and stop killing people .”
President Donald Trump shakes hands with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a meeting in the Oval Office on Monday, January 27, 2020. (Michael Reynolds/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
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Asked about donors' description of the New York event, Trump campaign national press secretary Karoline Leavitt issued a broad statement to the Post.
“When President Trump is back in the Oval Office, Israel will be protected again, Iran will be bankrupt again, terrorists will be hunted and the bloodshed will end,” Leavitt said.
Former President Donald Trump, center, during a campaign event in Crotona Park in the Bronx, New York, on Thursday, May 23, 2024. (Bing Guan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
While claiming that anti-Israel demonstrations seen across the country draw smaller crowds than his rallies, Trump said that “Israel is losing its power” in Washington, DC, especially in Congress.
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“It's unbelievable,” Trump added, wondering how Jewish people could vote for Democrats, especially Biden.
“They always let you down,” he said.
