The RJC Congratulates Trump, Slams Clinton’s Israel Record
The Republican Jewish Coalition issued an unenthusiastic endorsement of Donald Trump as he was declared the presumptive presidential nominee on Wednesday.
“The Republican Jewish Coalition congratulates Donald Trump on being the presumptive Presidential nominee of the Republican Party,” RJC’s national chairman David Flaum said in a statement.
The statement went on to emphasize the need of defeating Hillary Clinton rather than about choosing their party’s new standard-bearer as the better choice in the general election. Throughout the course of this long campaign, among Republicans, there has been unity in the belief that Hillary Clinton is the worst possible choice for a commander in chief,” Flaum stressed. “Secretary Clinton has proven time and again through her record and her policies that her candidacy will compromise our national security, weaken our economy and further strain our relationship with our greatest ally Israel.”
The RJC endorsement came after Ted Cruz and John Kasich dropped out of the race following a string of consecutive victories for Trump.
“The long-standing policy is that when there’s an ongoing primary, we are not going to weigh in and try to pick and choose favorites, or try and put our thumb on the scale and help one candidate or hurt another,” Matt Brooks, RJC executive director said in March. “Our track record in speaking up — and we will have plenty of opportunity once we have a nominee to speak up or speak out as the case may be — if you step back and you look at the history of the organization, whether it’s Pat Buchanan or others, even speaking out and taking on our own president when we had fundamental differences of opinion.”
In Wednesday’s statement, the RJC said the besides helping Trump, the group would focus on down-ballot races in states where incumbent Republicans are facing tough reelection campaigns. “Along with the Presidential race, the RJC will be working hard to hold on to our majorities in the Senate and the House. It is critical that these majorities be preserved,” Flaum said.