![]() So, what I’ve done - I’ve spent a great deal of my time, in a bizarre way, trying to put the world back together again - not because I’m so special, but I just happen to be president. This is a guy who thought we could deal with - it just went on and on and on. This is a guy who thought Putin was an admirable guy. This is a guy who wanted us to pull out of NATO. His “One America” - his, you know, “America Only” policy has been disastrous. I mean, I’ve been stunned how deep it goes. We have fewer democracies today than we had 15 years ago.Īnd one of the things that I think is important to keep our focus on is that I’ve been stunned at the damage done by the last administration to us internationally and globally. And I called a meeting of all the leading democracies - which we’ve done. Democracy is at stake not just here but around the world. We’ve never walked away from it.Īnd one of the things that concerns me is - you inadvertently mentioned when you were introducing me - and that is that democracy is at stake. We’ve never fully lived up from it, but we’ve never walked away from it. And it’s one that we say that we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men and women are created equal, endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights - life, liberty, et cetera. We’re the only one that - I apologize to the press for hearing me say this so many times - but we’re the only nation in the world founded on an idea. Every other nation has been founded based on geography, ethnicity, religion, and whatever. And America is the only nation, in my view - and some of you heard me say this before - that was founded on an idea. It’s defined by a shared interest and shared democratic values. Our relationship is defined by a genuine friendship. It’s much more sanitized than it was.īut the point I’m trying to make is: There’s been an unbreakable bond we’ve had with Israel. But, by the way, they’re even trying to change a little bit of what Dachau looked like at the time. ![]() I have eight grandchildren I have two to go. Now, I’ve taken every one of my - my three children - Beau was alive at the time - as well as my grandchildren. And I wanted my kids to understand how - how that happened. And so, he convinced me before he di- long before he died: The one thing I’ve done, I’ve taken every one of my children to Dachau and every one of my grandchildren, because I wanted them to see - I wanted them to see those beautiful homes along the fence line with the beautiful roofs and lovely homes, and they’d pretend they didn’t know. And he’d talk about why we didn’t do a lot at the time.Īnd, you know, one of the interesting things is that he used to talk about how it was impossible for the Israelis to - excuse me - the Germans not to know what was going on. And I mean this - this is a fact everybody knows this about my dad, when he was alive and at home.Īnd my dad talked about the fact that - the idea that - and, by the way, Chris Dodd’s dad was part of the commission to investigate what happened in the concentration camps. And he talked about a phrase that was used often then and still - that silence is complicity. And - and at our house, dinner was a place where you’d ask questions and incidentally ate.Īnd my dad would rail against what - why we didn’t bomb the railroad tracks, the camps, why we took so long to allow the ships to come in, et cetera. And he’d come home for dinner every night. Our dinner table was a place - this is the God’s truth - where we would - my dad worked late to - he ran an automobile dealership. My dad was what a lot of those of you involved in the community would call a righteous Christian. I’ve often said: If there weren’t (inaudible), we’d have to invent one. But I just want you to know that, you know, I’ve often said: From the time I came to the United States Senate, I’ve been - and Stu knows - an incredibly strong supporter of the State of Israel. I’m happy to take some questions on that. And I know that there’s a great concern about the situation in Israel. Your neighbor is saying, “What the hell you’re blocking the roads out there for?” (Laughter.) ![]() (Laughter.) You’ve had all kinds of people. You’ve had Secret Service running through the house. You know, people indicate that putting on a fundraiser is no big deal. THE PRESIDENT: Well, first of all, thank you. Get Involved Show submenu for “Get Involved””.The White House Show submenu for “The White House””.Office of the United States Trade Representative.Office of Science and Technology Policy.Executive Offices Show submenu for “Executive Offices””.Administration Show submenu for “Administration””.
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