REMARKS

Remarks by President Trump at a Hanukkah Reception
Issued on: December 12, 2019

East Room

December 11, 2019
8:32 P.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much everybody. Wow, what a crowd. You know, I did this a little while ago with a very similar group of people. Some are here for the second time — Ron — but that’s good. That means you love Israel and you love everything we’re doing. And I’m very honored to have you all here. Thank you very much.

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And we have a man that I have, by the way, great respect: Mark Levin. Where is Mark Levin? (Applause.) What a show. Where is Mark? Where is Mark? He’s over here. Lee, send him up here, will you, please? Mark, come on up. Come on up here. Mark — the great Mark Levin. What a show. You know he had a very successful radio show. Who knew that face was going to work so well on television? (Laughter.) Number-one show.

Come on, Mark, wherever you may be. Where are you? I saw him. Is that Mark? Come on, Mark. Get your way up. (Applause.) Make a path. Like we used to say in the military, “Make a path.” “Make a path.” What a great guy. What a great show.

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But my executive order prohibits federal funding to any college or university that spreads, promotes, tolerates, or supports anything having to do with anti-Semitism. (Applause.)

We’re delivering a powerful message to American academia. Not all of it is very good. Some of it’s wonderful, but not all of it. And it seems to be going in the wrong direction. Although I will tell you, a lot of strides have been made over the last year. There’s a lot of enthusiasm for what we believe, what we think.

But they got out of control. I said, “If you want to receive federal dollars, you must reject anti-Semitism.” (Applause.) And if they don’t, they don’t get hundreds of millions of dollars. You have to see the money that we pour into these colleges and then they do what they were doing. So we will not permit anti-Jewish bigotry on our college campuses. And if they want to do that, it’s going to be extremely costly. It will be amazing how quickly they stop. (Applause.)

My administration also forcefully condemns the so-called Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement — the BDS. (Applause.) My administration will not stand for these malicious attacks upon the State of Israel. Discrimination against members of Jewish faith and the Jewish faith, it has to be confronted at every turn. And we will confront it at every turn. There is no tolerance for hate.

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END

8:53 P.M. EST