Trump pledges to build an Israeli-style Iron Dome system to protect US

Jacob Magid is The Times of Israel's US bureau chief

Republican presidential candidate and former president Donald Trump speaks during the final day of the Republican National Convention July 18, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
Republican presidential candidate and former president Donald Trump speaks during the final day of the Republican National Convention July 18, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

MILWAUKEE, Wisconsin — Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump again pledges to build an Iron Dome missile defense system for the United States akin to the one Israel has.

“Israel has an Iron Dome. They have a missile defense system. Three-hundred and forty-two missiles were shot into Israel, and only one got through a little bit,” Trump says in his nearly hour-and-a-half-long speech at the Republican National Convention, referencing the April Iran missile attack on Israel.

“Why should other countries have this and we don’t? No, we’re going to build an Iron Dome over our country and we’re going to be sure that nothing can come and harm our people,” he says.

It is not clear what threat Trump is trying to thwart, as Iron Dome is only capable of intercepting short-range rockets — not a danger the US has ever faced along its borders.

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