Former President Trump reportedly said during a private meeting with donors in New York earlier this month that if he was re-elected president, he would stop the “radical revolution” taking place on America’s college campuses.
The Republican front-runner also vowed to “deport” foreign students who protest against Israel, The Washington Post reported on Tuesday, citing a donor who spoke on condition of anonymity. The rally took place on May 14 and Trump reportedly joked that “98 percent of my Jewish friends were there.”
“One of the things I’m doing is kicking the protesting students out of the country. You know, we have a lot of international students. They’re going to behave themselves as soon as they hear that,” Trump told The Washington Post.
When donors expressed concern that anti-Israel students and professors would one day rise to positions of power in the United States, Trump reportedly said they were part of a “radical revolution.”
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Former President Donald Trump in the Bronx, New York City, May 23, 2024. (Andrea Renaud/Star Max/GC Images)
“This must stop now,” Trump said of the protests, praising the NYPD’s response to the Columbia University encampment, adding that other cities should follow suit.
“If I’m elected — and you really should do this — if I’m re-elected, we’ll set this movement back 25 or 30 years,” he said, according to donors who spoke to The Washington Post.
Trump reportedly told wealthy donors in New York at a private event that he supported Israel’s right to continue its “war on terror” and praised the White House’s policy towards Israel.
But Trump did not mention Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by name, whom he reportedly has not spoken to in years, since the Israeli prime minister acknowledged Biden’s 2020 victory.
The presumptive Republican presidential nominee has come under pressure from GOP donors in recent months to step up his support for Israel, and Prime Minister Netanyahu in particular.
In April, President Trump notably said in an interview with conservative talk show radio host Hugh Hewitt that Israel should “end the war, bring back the peace, and stop killing people” regarding the war in Gaza.
President Donald Trump shakes hands with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a meeting in the Oval Office, Monday, Jan. 27, 2020. (Michael Reynolds/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
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Asked about the donor’s account of the New York event, Trump campaign national spokeswoman Caroline Leavitt provided a broad statement to The Washington Post.
“With President Trump back in the Oval Office, Israel will be protected again, Iran will be bankrupt again, terrorists will be cornered, and the bloodshed will end,” Leavitt said.
Former President Donald Trump (center) at a campaign event at Crotona Park in the Bronx, New York, Thursday, May 23, 2024. (Bing Guang/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“Israel is losing its power in Washington, D.C., and especially in Congress,” Trump said, claiming that anti-Israel protests across the country were attended by smaller numbers of people than his own rallies.
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“It’s unbelievable,” Trump added, questioning whether Jews could vote for Democrats, and Biden in particular.
“They always disappoint,” he said.
