President Donald Trump held a press conference alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Wednesday at the White House, where he was asked about a spike in anti-Semitic incidents in the US.
Here is the full, word-for-word question and answer:
Question: Mr. President, since your election campaign and even after your victory, we've seen a sharp rise in anti-Semitic incidents across the United States. And I wonder what you say to those among the Jewish community in the States and in Israel and maybe around the world, who believe and feel that your administration is playing with xenophobia and maybe racist tones?
Trump: Well, I just want to say that we are, you know, very honored by the victory that we had. Three hundred and six Electoral College votes. We were not supposed to crack 220. You know that, right? There was no way to 221 but then they said there's no way to 270. And there's tremendous enthusiasm out there. I will say that we are going to have peace in this country. We are going to stop crime in this country. We are going to do everything within our power to stop long simmering racism and every other thing that's going on. Because a lot of bad things have been taking place over a long period of time. I think one of the reasons I won the election is because we have a very, very divided nation. Very divided and hopefully, I'll be able to do something about that. And I — you know, something that was very important to me.
As far as people, Jewish people — so many friends, a daughter who happens to be here right now. A son-in-law, and three beautiful grandchildren. I think that you're going to see a lot of different United States of America over the next three, four, or eight years. I think a lot of good things are happening and you're going to see a lot of love. You're going to see a lot of love. Okay? Thank you.