Trump slams Democrats as being anti-Jewish before leaving for Mar-a-Lago
President Trump left the White House on Friday en route to his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida for the weekend. There, the president and first lady Melania Trump will participate in a working visit with the leaders of the Caribbean nations of the Bahamas, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica and Saint Lucia.
Asked why he isn't attending the annual AIPAC conference this year, the president on the White House South Lawn responded by attacking Democrats. The president claimed Democrats have proven to be anti-Israel, going so far as to call them anti-Jewish, repeating similar comments he has made in recent days. Republicans and many Democrats have heavily criticized Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minnesota, for comments perceived as anti-Semitic.
"The Democrats have very much proven to be anti-Israel there's no question about that, and it's a disgrace," Mr. Trump told reporters Friday. "I don't know what's happened to them but they are totally anti-Israel, Frankly I think they're anti-Jewish."
Mr. Trump's weekend getaway comes amid ongoing outcry over his criticism of the late Sen. John McCain. The president has repeatedly attacked the lawmaker who died last year after battling an aggressive form of brain cancer, claiming no one thanked him for McCain's funeral.
Meanwhile, special counsel Robert Mueller appears poised to release the final report on his wide-ranging investigation into possible ties between the Russian government and Trump campaign. Mr. Trump told reporters on Wednesday that he looked forward to the release of Mueller's findings and that they should be made public upon their release.
Mr. Trump told reporters on the South Lawn that he has no idea when the Mueller report will be completed or released, and expressed confidence in his attorney general. Mr. Trump has said in the past it's "totally up to" Attorney General William Barr to decide what to do with the report.
"We'll see what happens," the president said Friday. "It's gonna be very interesting. There was no collusion, there was no obstruction, everybody knows it. It's all a big hoax. I call it the witch hunt."
"I know that the the attorney general, highly respected, ultimately will make a decision," he added.
Once Barr receives Mueller's report, he will decide how much to release to Congress and the public.
— CBS News' Emily Tillett and Kathryn Watson contributed to this report.