Delivering a speech to an enthusiastic crowd at the Christians United for Israel (CUFI) conference in Washington, D.C. today, Vice President Mike Pence reiterated America’s strong commitment to the Jewish State and pointed to the Trump administration’s pro-Israel actions, like recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights and relocating the American embassy to Jerusalem.
He told the audience that “under President Donald Trump, if the world knows nothing else, the world knows this: America stands with Israel.”
Pence described the two nations as “family,” telling the audience that “Israel and the United States will always stand together, because America and Israel are more than friends. We’re more than allies. The United States and Israel are family. Descended from a common tradition of faith, we’re a family that upholds common values and together we share a common destiny.”
The vice president noted some of Iran’s misdeeds and reasserted the administration’s position that the malevolent Middle Eastern regime will not be permitted to create a nuclear weapon.
“Let me be clear: Iran should not confuse American restraint with a lack of American resolve,” he declared. “We hope for the best but the United States of America and our military are prepared to protect our interests and protect our personnel and our citizens in the region. We will continue to oppose Iran’s malign influence. We will continue to bring pressure on their economy. And under President Donald Trump, America will never allow Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon.”
The vice president spoke about the imperative of remembering the horror of the Holocaust and teaching subsequent generations about the atrocity.
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Without specifically mentioning her name, he decried Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s (D-NY) comments about “concentration camps” on America’s border and he mentioned the support she has received from other people since making those comments.
And without specifically identifying her, the Vice President Pence seemed to speak about Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) who was asked yesterday on a Sunday show whether she agreed with Rep. Ocasio-Cortez’s concentration camps comparison. Rep. Tlaib responded that she did agree.
The interviewer did not specifically mention Nazi Germany when asking the question—the exact wording of her question was: “Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, your colleague who was at the border with you, compared the facilities to a concentration camp, do you agree with that comparison?”
Vice President Pence said that when asked whether she concurred “with comparing the noble and compassionate work done by U.S. Customs and Border personnel at detention facilities to the concentration camps of Nazi Germany,” the person “answered ‘absolutely.’”
“To compare the humane work of the dedicated men and women of Customs and Border Protection with the horrors of the Holocaust is an outrage,” the Vice President declared. “The Nazis took lives, American law enforcement save lives every day.”
“I promise you, President Donald Trump and I will always honor the memory of the victims of the Holocaust and we will always honor the service of the brave men and women of law enforcement all across this country,” he said.
Pence also promised that the president will address the border crisis and the problems with America’s immigration system.
“Under this president’s leadership, we will secure our border. We will provide compassionate relief to vulnerable families swept up in the crisis and we will fix this broken immigration system once and for all.”
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