Head of Republicans in Israel: Trump can’t be, won’t be president
Voters understand that to lead the United States you need to be more than a salesman, says Marc Zell; later, colleagues say Zell was ‘speaking in a personal capacity’
Donald Trump should not and will not be the president of the United States, the head of the Republican Party in Israel said Thursday.
Speaking on Army Radio, Marc Zell said that American voters would be sure to recognize that the prominent Republican candidate does not have the necessary qualities to lead his country.
“The voters understand that to lead the United States, you need a person who knows more than how to sell products, with all due respect to Donald Trump, and everything he has achieved in his career,” Zell said.
“In my opinion, he cannot be president of the United States.”
The Board of Directors of Republicans Overseas Israel (ROI) said subsequently that Zell was “speaking strictly of his personal opinions and in his personal capacity.”
In an email to The Times of Israel, ROI said “those personal opinions do not reflect the posture of ROI regarding this election,” and that “ROI does not take any position either favoring or opposing any of the distinguished Republican candidates until there is a nominee. We will let the primary process play out, and we fully expect then to endorse whichever Republican emerges victorious — including Mr. Trump — as being a far superior choice to any of the Democratic candidates.”
Zell spoke a day after Trump said he would be visiting Israel and meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the near future. Trump didn’t specify dates, but said he was planning to make the trip “very soon,” The New York Times reported.
Addressing a campaign rally in Virginia, the real estate mogul proclaimed “I love Israel” and “Israel is our great partner,” The Washington Post reported. He told the crowd that the prime minister was “a great guy… He’s a good man, he’s worked very hard, he has absolutely no support from President Obama — absolutely none,” Trump said, touting himself as “very, very pro-Israel.”
