Santorum Pleased With Trump's Speech In Saudi Arabia
PHILADELPHIA (CBS)--Former Pennsylvania Senator and multiple time candidate for the Republican nomination for President, Rick Santorum, assessed Donald Trump's speech on terrorism in Saudi Arabia, telling Dom Giordano that, although he would've said a few things differently, he thought the speech struck the proper tone.
"I would've been a little harder edged and tied the whole Islamic issue to extremism, but as if extremism isn't Islamic extremism, but he used terrorism and extremism and that kind of stuff, and radicalism. One time, well twice, he used Islamist and Islamic. I understand, you're in the belly of the beast there and it's a very difficult thing to do but, candidly, I think he probably would've earned a little bit more respect had he been a little bit more confrontational than he was. Having said that, it wasn't bad. I was, overall, very pleased."
From Saudi Arabia, Trump traveled to Israel in hopes of addressing the conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians. However, Santorum believes the Palestinians are actively subverting the negotiation process.
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"You can't have a deal with someone who doesn't want a deal. You know that in any aspect of your life. It's absolutely clear, perfectly clear, that the Palestinians are incapable of making a deal because they don't think that a deal benefits them. They believe that they're in a much better position, they have much more leverage if they continue to be the antagonist here is this relationship."
"I hate to say this, but antisemitism and certainly anti-Zionism is not a thing of the past and the Palestinians are the beneficiaries of it. As long as they continue to be the thorn in the side of Israel and the Jewish people, they're going to benefit from it. I hate to say, but that's exactly what's happening. They know that. Given the fact, you look at Europe, particularly Europe, unfortunately now, as antagonistic as they are to the state of Israel, I don't see any reason for them to come to the table. President Trump needs to recognize this and needs to recognize that our ally in the region is Israel. More importantly than ever, we need to stand with them and we need to make sure that they are safe and secure."