'King of Israel' and a Trump tower in Greenland: Here's what Trump had to say this week
The president has had a busy week on Twitter and with speeches. From grappling with Denmark over a potential acquisition of Greenland to joking he wanted to award himself the Medal of Honor, Donald Trump has turned heads with a series of comments.
Here are the week’s highlights, for anybody who needs to get caught up.
The King of Israel
Last week, Trump encouraged the state of Israel on Twitter to deny entry to Democratic Congresswomen Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib. And this week, he talked about Jewish voters and their relationship to Israel. A lot.
Trump told reporters on two subsequent days that Jewish Americans who vote for Democrats are “disloyal to Israel.”
Criticizing a statement by Omar that the U.S. should rethink the aid money it gives to Israel since she and Tlaib were barred, Trump said Tuesday that Democrats were “defending these two people over the state of Israel."
More: Trump promotes claim that he is ‘King of Israel’ as Jewish people tweet #DisloyalToTrump
Then, Trump tweeted out a conservative commentator and conspiracy theorist’s claim that Trump is like the “King of Israel” to Jewish people. “They love him like he is the second coming of God,” Trump tweeted, attributing it to Wayne Allyn Root.
“Thank you to Wayne Allyn Root for the very nice words. “President Trump is the greatest President for Jews and for Israel in the history of the world, not just America, he is the best President for Israel in the history of the world...and the Jewish people in Israel love him....
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 21, 2019
“King of Israel” became a trending topic on Twitter at the same time the hashtag #DisloyalToTrump went viral.
'I am the chosen one'
Trump is "the chosen one." At least, that's what he says about his trade war with China.
On Wednesday, Trump told reporters that the trade war should have been started a long time ago under previous presidents, but that "somebody had to do it."
"I am the chosen one," Trump said, symbolically looking up at the sky.
Trump also tweeted with his anger on Friday at China's newest round of tariffs.
Our Country has lost, stupidly, Trillions of Dollars with China over many years. They have stolen our Intellectual Property at a rate of Hundreds of Billions of Dollars a year, & they want to continue. I won’t let that happen! We don’t need China and, frankly, would be far....
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 23, 2019
More: 'We don't need it.' Donald Trump, in shift, says he's not considering tax cuts
Danish PM is 'nasty,' and a Trump tower in Greenland
Trump has been on his idea to buy Greenland from Denmark, which currently holds the territory.
Denmark's prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, responded with her "disappointment and surprise," saying that the idea "has clearly been rejected."
Trump decided to cancel his scheduled visit to Denmark and told reporters on Wednesday that "I looked forward to going, but I thought the prime minister's statement hat it was absurd, that it was an absurd idea was nasty. I thought it was an inappropriate statement."
I promise not to do this to Greenland! pic.twitter.com/03DdyVU6HA
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 20, 2019
'I won't say it here' but 'keep America great'
Also on Wednesday, Trump spoke at the 75th American Veterans convention on Louisville, Kentucky, where he announced his plan to streamline the process of forgiving the federal student debt of permanently disabled veterans.
During the speech, he told the audience he would not use the slogan "keep America great," and then immediately said it.
"I won’t say it here because this is not a campaign speech," he said. "This is not a campaign speech, so I will not say 'keep America great,' but we’re going to keep America great. We’re going to keep America great."
At the same speech, Trump said he wanted to award himself the Medal of Honor, but "they told me I don't qualify."
Trump 'hereby orders' companies to seek 'alternative' markets
He wrote Friday that he "hereby ordered" American companies to start considering alternatives to China and "making your products in the USA."
This came as Dow Jones Industrial Average trended down by more than 500 points Friday in response to the developments with China.
Trump's response? The stock market must have plunged because of a democrat: Seth Moulton, who announced on Friday he would leave the primary race.
"The Dow is down 573 points perhaps on the news that Representative Seth Moulton, whoever that may be, has dropped out of the 2020 Presidential Race!" Trump joked on Twitter.
More: Trump reverses again on gun background checks, says he backs them and never told NRA otherwise
Contributing: Nicholas Wu, Savannah Behrmann, John Fritze, Chris Kenning
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump this week: King of Israel, the chosen one, China trade war
