For the first time since launching his presidential bid in June, Donald Trump is ditching his trademark off-the-cuff style for a prepared speech.
On Monday, Trump will speak before the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) the nation’s foremost pro-Israel lobbying group. The speech, set to begin after 5 p.m. ET at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C., will be a chance for the GOP frontrunner to clarify his remark about staying “neutral” regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which worried many Jewish leaders. His growing popularity among white supremacists groups in recent weeks is another bone of contention among many in the Jewish American community.
Several groups of rabbis and Jewish religious leaders are planning to protest the speech.
Last time Trump spoke to a Jewish audience, it wasn’t exactly a home run. Addressing the Republican Jewish coalition in December, Trump tried to cozy up to Jewish conservatives by telling them he was “a negotiator, like you folks,” adding, “Is there anyone in this room who doesn’t negotiate deals? Probably more than any room I’ve ever spoken.”
And just to be sure he insulted them sufficiently, Trump then told the stunned crowd that “Stupidly, you want to give money… You’re not going to support me because I don’t want your money.”