In order to induce "pro-Palestinian" student protestors to "behave," former US President Donald Trump made a pledge to his campaign funders that, should he win a second term in office, he would deport them.
As anti-Israel protests spread across the country earlier this month, Trump made the statement at a roundtable session in New York, according to The Washington Post.
"One thing I do is, any student that protests, I throw them out of the country. You know, there are a lot of foreign students. As soon as they hear that, they're going to behave," Trump allegedly said on May 14.
In addition, Trump joked that "98% of my Jewish friends" attended the dinner, according to sources cited by The Independent in their article.
Trump has expressed differing views on Israel's attack against Gaza in public. However, it is believed that he voiced support for Israel's measures against "terrorism" during the most recent meeting in New York.
In April, a surge of pro-Palestinian demonstrations broke out at a number of US institutions, with demonstrators calling for the divestment of firms supporting Israel and the Gaza War. There were more than 2,000 demonstrators detained.
A supporter expressed worry that many of the academics and students taking part in the demonstrations in New York would eventually be in positions of authority in the nation.
According to The Washington Post, Trump called the demonstrations a "radical revolution" that he intended to put an end to. Praising the recent acts of the New York Police Department in scattering demonstrators at Columbia University, he declared that nationwide protests had to be "stopped now".
"Well, if you get me elected, and you should really be doing this, if you get me re-elected, we’re going to set that movement back 25 or 30 years," he said, according to the donors cited by The Washington Post in its report.
Speaking about the conflict in Gaza, which began when Hamas attacked communities in southern Israel on October 7, Trump supposedly said he supported Israel's right to carry out "its war on terror."
Since leaving office, the former US president has been critical of Israel and Netanyahu, even following the Hamas killing. During a rally in October, Trump called Defence Minister Yoav Gallant a "jerk" and praised the terrorist organisation Hezbollah as "very smart."
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