TRUMP ULTIMATELY POSES A SERIOUS SECURITY THREAT TO THE STATE OF ISRAEL.
“If [Trump] is re-elected, that will be a catastrophe for the United States and the free world.”
Shabtai Shavit, Head of Mossad (1989-96) and Iran expert, 2020
Trump consistently has shown that he is driven not by any ideology or policy, not by any desire to strengthen the security of the United States or any of its allies, and not by any desire to strengthen let alone support democracy, but by a mercurial obsession with what works best for him, and only him.
For Israel, a nation surrounded by enemies and relying on the steadfast support of its allies, Trump’s volatile behavior is an existential risk. Trump has shown time and again that he is willing to sacrifice alliances and renege on promises if it suits his immediate interests. Israel cannot afford to gamble its security on his whim.
National security and other officials view Trump as unfit to be Commander-in-Chief
He long has at best, ignored, and at worst, belittled or fired members of his national security team. He has called for the arrest and execution of his Chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff for making calls to assure China that Trump was not about to attack them. He is erratic and prone to taking contradictory positions on a whim.
Take it from those who best know Trump and who understand what it means to defend the security of this country and the security of our allies.
- Just over half of Trump’s Cabinet (42 in total) expressly support his presidential bid. Those who declined to help him included one of his national security advisers, both his former CIA directors, two of his former defense secretaries, both of his former chiefs of staff with military backgrounds, one of his former DHS secretaries, and his vice president. Three – Mike Pence, John Bolton, and Mark Esper have said they will not support him.
- A bipartisan group of 741 former senior national security leaders, comprising over 230 general and flag officers, 15 retired four-star generals and admirals, ten cabinet secretaries, 10 service secretaries, and 148 ambassadors, have endorsed Vice President Harris. Donald Trump, they maintain, is unfit to be Commander-in-Chief.
- Harris also has benefitted from a flood of endorsements from officials who had worked in the administrations of Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush and/or Donald Trump (in a letter signed this past week 111 officials, which followed a letter signed by 17 former staff members from the Reagan administration and a letter signed by 238 staffers who worked in the Bush I or Bush II administrations or for Senators John McCain or Mitt Romney) as well as from other prominent Republicans, including members of Congress. Some Republican officials spoke at the DNC. Harris also has the endorsement of former Vice President Dick Cheney and his daughter, former Rep. Liz Cheney. Former Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez also endorsed Harris.
Trump has weakened, not strengthened, Israel’s security
"Trump’s support for Israel in the first term is not guaranteed in the second term, because Trump’s positions are made on the basis of what’s good for Donald Trump, not on some coherent theory of national security.”
John Bolton, Trump’s National Security Advisor 2018-19, quoted in NY Times, 2024
ON IRAN: AFTER PROMISING JCPOA WITHDRAWAL DURING HIS CAMPAIGN AS A DIG AT OBAMA/BIDEN, TRUMP, ONCE IN OFFICE, RESISTED WITHDRAWAL AND WANTED TO INSTEAD NEGOTIATE HIS OWN DEAL WITH IRAN SO THAT HE COULD TAKE THE CREDIT
- After repeatedly vowing on the campaign trail in 2016 to immediately withdraw the U.S. from the JCPOA “Iran deal” upon election to the Presidency, which he employed as an cudgel against Obama, Trump in fact stalled on actually withdrawing from the JCPOA for the first 15 months of his term, reportedly only acting to finally withdraw in May 2018 after hawkish advisors led by John Bolton urged him to honor his campaign promise. Source: New York Times
- When Trump did finally withdraw from the JCPOA he did so without any substitute strategy to constrain Iran’s nuclear weapons development, other than a “maximum pressure campaign” of various sanctions, which by the last year of Trump’s term had proven to be ineffective in dissuading Iran from continued progress towards nuclear armament. Source
Trump’s withdrawal from the JCPOA has made Israel more vulnerable, not less so. There was no fallback plan because Trump cared more about shredding something painstakingly negotiated under President Obama than about advancing the interests of Israel or of the United States in the region.
HARMFUL RHETORIC: SINCE 10/7, TRUMP FLATTERED ISRAEL’S ADVERSARIES AND INSULTED ITS LEADERS
- Trump stated just a few days after 10/7, “Hezbollah is very smart” and called Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant a “jerk”. Trump then griped, in a non sequitur and apparent breach of previously undisclosed classified information: “I’ll never forget that Bibi Netanyahu let us down. [by allegedly declining to participate in the assassination of Solemani] That was a very terrible thing.” Source: ABC News, CNN
- In July 2024 he proudly shared a ‘get well’ note, sent to him by PA leader Mahmoud Abbas after his ear was injured in an assassination attempt, that (hypocritically, coming from a man who administers the infamous “Pay for Slay” program to reward terrorism against Israel) read “acts of violence must not have a place in a world of law and order”; Trump added a fatuous reply hand-written in Sharpie: “Mahmoud – So nice – Thank you – Everything will be good / Best Wishes”; Trump bizarrely posted Abbas’ note with his reply to Truth Social just hours before his private meeting with Netanyahu at Mar-a-Lago. Source: Jerusalem Post
...WHILE TELLING ISRAEL TO “GET IT OVER WITH FAST”
- In March 2024, at a sensitive moment for Israel, while actively pushing to block Congressional approval of the then-pending critical $14 billion Israel security aid bill, Trump told Netanyahu-aligned Israeli newspaper Israel Hayom: “You have to finish up your war. You have to finish it up. You’ve got to get it done. We’ve got to get to peace. You can’t have this going on, and I will say Israel has to be very careful because you are losing a lot of the world. You are losing a lot of support... It’s a very bad picture for the world. I think Israel wanted to show that it’s tough, but sometimes you shouldn’t be doing that.” Source: AP
- In an April 2024 radio interview, Trump revealed self-serving impatience for Israel’s ongoing war effort: “Get it over with and let’s get back to peace and stop killing people. And that’s a very simple statement. They have to get it done. Get it over with and get it over with fast because we have to -- you have to get back to normalcy and peace... I’m not sure that I’m loving the way they’re doing it, because you’ve got to have victory. You have to have a victory, and it’s taking a long time ...Israel is absolutely losing the PR war.” Source: AP
- In response to Trump’s comments, John Podhoretz, editor of conservative Jewish political magazine Commentary, said: “Those who support Trump and also are deeply supportive of Israel’s efforts to win the war with Hamas have to reconcile themselves with the fact that at a crucial moment when the administration seems to be speaking out of both sides of its mouth, and creating a sense of instability in the relationship between the United States and Israel, Trump exacerbated that instability as the putative nominee of the other party.”
Trump sides with Putin and Russia is fast becoming Iran’s principal source of weapons, making Israel vulnerable
Trump has consistently and incomprehensibly sided with Vladmir Putin. In February, he said he would encourage Russia to do “whatever the hell they want” to any NATO member country that doesn’t meet spending guidelines on defense. He has repeatedly threatened to withdraw from NATO, aligning himself with Putin.
- For its part, Russia has deepened its strategic ties with Iran since the invasion of Ukraine. Russia is the chief supplier of arms and weaponry to Iran. Last month, POLITICO reported that, in return for Iranian aid to the Russian war effort in Ukraine, Russia hastransferred short-range ballistic missiles and electronic warfare systems to Iran. POLITICO notes that Iran’s role in the October 7th attacks was a gift to Russia as it eased pressure on its forces in Ukraine and triggered deep disagreements among the Western allies.
- When Iran counter-attacked Israel on April 13-14, Russia stood by Iran. The Washington Post and others have reported that Russia is in negotiations with Iran to supply Iran with Su-35s, one of Russia’s most advanced fighter-bombers.
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- At a time when there is closer cooperation among China, Russia, North Korea and Iran, this is not the time to entertain withdrawing from our multilateral commitments and alliances. The clearest flashpoint between democratic countries and authoritarian regimes is the war in Ukraine.
- Trump and JD Vance both would abandon Ukraine if given the chance. What drives Trump – the desire to achieve that which was denied him while he was president – and that which Obama had received – the Nobel Peace Prize. Trump will align himself with Putin to achieve peace in a day in Ukraine, at immeasurable cost to Ukraine and its people. Putin will then have free rein to continue his expansionist policies.
- Failure to stand with Ukraine will send a message of weakness to all of America’s adversaries. And once Trump starts down the road toward America First, there will be no turning back.