Shock-jock Republican candidate Donald Trump has described US President Barack Obama as “the worst thing that has ever happened to Israel”.
Speaking ahead of the Nevada caucus, which Mr Trump won by more than 45 per cent, he told Fox News presenter Sean Hannity that Mr Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran had “disgusted” his Jewish friends.
He said: “I have so many Jewish friends. They supported Obama and they are so disgusted – they can’t understand what happened, what went wrong.
“I think that President Obama has been the worst thing that’s ever happened to Israel.”
Mr Trump went on to describe himself as a “great friend of Israel”, an ally on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Jewish community, pointing to his Jewish son-in-law Jared, who was sitting in the audience as he spoke.
He said he would “100 per cent” come to Israel’s defence if the country was ever under attack.
He said: “If Israel ends up attacks Iran because … they see they’re doing the nuclear, or if it’s the other way around, we have to fight with Iran. By the way, that’s not happening, folks. I don’t care. Deals are meant to be broken in some cases, all right?”
New York businessman Mr Trump, 69, said he would like to find a resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict if he were elected president.
“The ultimate deal would be making a deal between Israel and the Palestinians,” he said.
“I have been told by very high level people it’s impossible because the hatred; especially on the one side.”
He continued: “It’s so intense, it’s so incredible – from the time [Palestinians] are two years old they’re been told to hate to hate. It’s got to be taken away.”
He added: “This is the toughest of all deals… I would like to do it.”