http://www.dailywire.com/news/4275/trump-speaks-aipac-reads-teleprompter-not-awful-ben-shapiro#pq=gybNMJTrump Speaks At AIPAC, Reads Teleprompter, Is Not AwfulBY: BEN SHAPIRO MARCH 21, 2016
In a speech before the American Israel Public Affairs Committee on Monday evening, 2016 Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump dumped his neutral language with regard to the state of Israel and the Palestinians, and embraced a traditionally pro-Israel position. He actually spoke to a script, for the most part at least; he relied heavily on the catch phrase “believe me,” which did not inspire confidence. But for the most part, he hit his marks, and according to people in the room, left everyone buzzing.
Trump began by bragging about his supposed bona fides. He called himself a “newcomer to politics, but not to backing the Jewish state.” As evidence, the talked about lending New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani a plane after 9/11, as well as that infamous grand marshal position at the Israel Day Parade. He even added, “It was a very dangerous time for Israel, and frankly, for anyone supporting Israel. Many people turned down this honor. I took the risk, and I’m glad I did.”
Yes, it was like running through gunfire in the jungles of Vietnam, Donald.
Trump then launched into a solidly pro-Israel speech in which he stated that his “number one priority is to dismantle the disastrous deal with Iran,” calling it “catastrophic”; explained that he would “stand up to Iran’s aggressive push to destabilize and dominate the region”; and said he would “veto 100 percent” any United Nations attempt to cram down a deal on the Israelis.
His best moments were unscripted, as always – he said at one point regarding the Iran deal, “I’ve studied this issue in great detail. Greater by far than anyone else, believe me.” This prompted massive laughter from the audience, which knows that Trump has likely never studied anything other than naked European modeling agencies with sufficient focus.
He sneaked in his pitch for The Art of The Deal: “I wrote The Art Of The Deal, one of the bestselling all-time…I’ll be criticized, I think it is number one, but why take a chance, one of the all-time bestselling books about deals and dealmaking.” More laughter.
His biggest applause line came when he ripped into Hillary Clinton as a “total disaster.” Huge laughter rocked the room. He added, “She and President Obama have treated Israel very, very badly.” When Trump hits, he hits. And the crowd knows just how anti-Israel the Obama administration has been.
Trump’s biggest mistake: calling the Palestinian-controlled areas “Palestine,” for which he was upbraided by Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) immediately. Cruz said, “To the surprise of the previous speaker, Palestine has not existed since 1948.”
But overall, this was one of Trump’s better performances. It demonstrated actual discipline, or at least that Trump is capable of reading a teleprompter.
But we’ll have to wait to see what Trump says tomorrow. After all, he’s reversed himself every five minutes on every major issue for the last year or so.
