Hillary Clinton derided Donald Trump as a feckless negotiator and told AIPAC that “walking away” from the Middle East was not an option for the United States, a broadside against the Republican front-runner that foreshadowed a possible general election strategy.
“We need steady hands, not a president who says he is neutral on Monday, pro-Israel on Tuesday and who-knows-what on Wednesday,” the former secretary of state and front-runner for the Democratic presidential nod said March 21 in an address to the annual American Israel Public Affairs Committee conference in Washington, D.C.
“The U.S. can never be neutral when it comes to Israel’s security and survival,” Clinton said to repeated cheers and applause. “Some things aren’t negotiable, and anyone who doesn’t understand that has no business in being our president.”
Clinton’s speech, running more than 30 minutes, made clear she would cast her experience as chief diplomat, senator from New York and first lady against Trump’s bid to stake his claim to the presidency based on his success as a businessman.
In recent days, Clinton’s campaign has pivoted toward a strategy of challenging Trump’s self-presentation, as the two have emerged as their party’s likely candidates in the general election.
Clinton also took aim at calls to decrease American involvement in the region.
“Candidates for president who think the United States of America can outsource Israel’s security to dictators or that America no longer has vital interests in this region are dangerously wrong,” she said.
Clinton also listed Trump’s more controversial calls, including a ban on Muslim entry into the U.S., and the violence he at times has been accused of encouraging at his rallies.
“Tonight, you will get a glimpse of a potential U.S. foreign policy that would insult our allies, not engage with them, and embolden our adversaries, not defeat them,” she said, referring to Trump’s AIPAC speech coming later that night. — jta