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announcer: former vice president mike pence spoke at the republican jewish coalition leadership meeting in las vegas. he talked about his involvement in the decision to move the american embassy in israel to jerusalem. announcer: ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the author of the new book "so help me, god," the 48th vice president of the united states, mike pence. ♪ >> hello rj c. it is great to be here with so

many friends. my friend the former secretary of state mike pompeo. senator ted cruz. governor chris sununu. governor larry hogan. senator hagerty. all of you patriotic republicans at the republican jewish coalition national leadership meeting. thank you all. [applause] i want to thank norm coleman and matt brooks for their extraordinary leadership. impactful leadership of this great organization. i say to all of you from the bottom of my heart, thank you. thinker -- thank you for all you did to ensure republican victories across this country. thank you for electing a new republican majority in the united states house of

representatives and ending the speakership of nancy pelosi once and for all. [applause] how long have we been waiting to say that? rjc has led millions of jewish americans home to the republican party. and made an extraordinary difference in our elections and it is a joy for me to be here. it is particularly a joy to be here with my much better half, someone who has served this nation as a marine corps mom, a 30 year elementary school teacher. she is a pilot and accomplished artist and if i may say so, the best second lady the united states of america has ever had. would you welcome my wife karen pence. [applause]

thank you all. thank all the supporters for being here. most of all let me say on behalf of my wife and my family, thank you for the privilege of serving as your vice president. it was the greatest honor of my life. with the support of the rjc, from early on in the 2016 campaign, we elected an administration that changed history. we rebuilt our military. we secured our border. our military crushed the isis caliphate and took down their leader without one american casualty. we revived our economy by cutting taxes, rolling back regulation and unleashed american energy and made america energy independent for the first time in 70 years.

with the support of the rjc across this country, we rolled our sleeves up and confirmed 300 conservatives to our federal courts at every level and senator ted cruz, let me thank you in person for justice neil gorsuch, brett kavanaugh and amy coney barrett. [applause] thank you, senator. as someone who has long championed a country i have always called our most cherished ally, let me say what an extraordinary privilege it was to be vice president in the most pro-israel in american history.

[applause] as matt brooks knows, i am not new to the cause of the u.s.-israel relationship. i was elected to congress in the year 2000. i just wrote a book. i talk about those early days in congress. i arrived with strong conservative convictions but also brought with me a deep and abiding love for the jewish state of israel. it was in those early days in congress, i made a point that every time the u.s.-israel relationship was being debated on the house floor, i would sprint to the house of representatives and take a spot

in the debate. i must tell you, it struck some of my democrat colleagues as unexpected. this heartland congressman from a rural indiana district, giving voice to america's in's -- america's relationship with israel. on more than one occasion, some prominent jewish democrat members of congress would come up to me in the conversation would be the same. they would say, congressman pence, that was a pretty good speech about israel. i would say, thank you very much. they would say, big jewish community out there in the cornfields of indiana? [laughter] i would say, i have some jewish constituents, but not a large community. they would say, what was your mother's maiden name? [laughter] i would always say, look, songs of israel were the anthems of my youth. i am very typical.

the love for israel echoes out of every little bump lord church , every cornfield in america. let me tell you from the heartland to the coastland, america stands with israel. [applause] so. with that support and your support, i could not be more proud of the record of the trump-pence administration. our administration ensured that israel would always have the resources and strength to defend herself by herself. under our administration, american support for israel security was greater than any time in the history of the modern state of israel. [applause] from our first day in office, we took steps to take action to strengthen that relationship. we acknowledged israel's sovereignty over the goal on heights. we removed the united states for

the u.n. human rights council for its blatant anti-israel bias. we shut down the plo office in washington, d.c. [applause] our administration signed the strongest executive order ever written to fight anti-semitism. we banned taxpayer dollars from any institution of higher education that traffics in anti-semitic hate. [applause] and on the foreign stage, we were just as strong. we withdrew from the disastrous iran nuclear deal and made it clear that america will never allow iran to obtain a nuclear

weapon. we isolated iran more than ever before. we confronted their malign behavior across the region, the courage of our armed forces and the decisiveness of our president. qassem soleimani is gone. [applause] and of course, as secretary pompeo just reminded us, after four consecutive administrations , both political parties made a promise and broke it. it was d trump-pence administration that kept our word to the american people and our most cherished allies when we moved the embassy to jerusalem. [applause]

it was deeply humbling for me to be a small part of that. to be clear, all credit goes to the man who made the decision. to turn a deaf ear to virtually every leader in the world and every diplomatic expert in the united states. and cap his word. i had the great privilege of traveling shortly after the announcement to speak at the -- in jerusalem. i had the privilege of explaining and announcing our decision. one of the greatest honors of my life. after i returned to the hotel, the phone rang. the president was on the line. he said he had seen my speech on television. he asked me about the embassy. i said well, what we are hearing

from the state department is that it will take about 10 years to build and it is going to be a couple of million dollars. -- a couple of billion dollars. knowing a little something about construction, the president said that was not good enough. he said, call david friedman. tell david to get it done. tell david to get the embassy built and open in jerusalem. [applause] true story. karen and i got in the motorcade, drove to the airport. there was ambassador david friedman. a great american. standing on the tarmac, shaking my hand. i walked up to him and he said, mr. vice president, it was good to have you here. he told me to tell you to get it done. [applause] he said well, no.

we are working with the state department. we will work with congress. i said, david, that is not what he said. he said get it done. david got the look in his eye that a new york real estate lawyer can get. [laughter] five months later for pennies on the dollar, we opened the u.s. embassy in jerusalem. [applause] david got it done. [applause] so, the president made the decision to keep a promise. and a great champion of israel was our ambassador. two years later on a trip to israel, karen and i made in the

early days of 2020, before the covid pandemic was known and understood, we were there to participate in an international gathering but i had the privilege of visiting the american embassy. as we walked in the front door, i looked over at the cornerstone of the building. beautiful jerusalem stone. the tradition of a cornerstone is that the date of the dedication appears. the name of the president of the united states and the ambassador. you can imagine how moved i was when i looked at the cornerstone and i saw that between the name of donald trump and ambassador

friedman was my own. [applause] david friedman put it there. to have my name on the jerusalem stone at the corner of the american embassy in jerusalem. also one of the greatest honors of my life. [applause] it is extraordinary to think of the changes we made. and as i said, to say that every leader in the world told the president not to move the embassy would be an understatement. literally. i was there for many of the leader calls. i was there for many of the experts in foreign policy. they all said it would cause mayhem in the region.

war would break out. there would be bloodshed. within the day came -- but then the day came in the fall of 2020 when on the south lawn of the white house, leaders of israel, bahrain and the uae gathered and signed the first peace agreement in the middle east in nearly 30 years. [applause] that was the leadership that rjc made possible. your support and prayers sustained us every step of the way. i recite those accomplishments not to draw them into myself, but to make sure you all know that we did that together. but how times have changed. at home and abroad. we stand here today. inflation is at a 40 year high. gasoline prices are through the roof. our southern border is under siege. crime is skyrocketing in our skit -- our economy has slipped

into recession. trillions in debt are piled on our children and grandchildren. it almost seems we have an administration that is intent on weakening america at home and abroad. it is particularly incomprehensible that president biden has reentered negotiations for a new and even worse nuclear deal with iran. let me make you a promise. of which i am absolutely certain. if the signs a new nuclear deal with tehran, i promise you the next american president will be a republican and the next american president will tear up that deal on day one. [applause]

weakness arouses people. the disasters withdrawal from afghanistan. the return to appeasement with iran. sending a message of weakness around the world that has emboldened the enemies of freedom from eastern europe to the asian-pacific. as we gather today, american freedom is under attack like never before. not from foreign enemies, but from a radical left operating from within this country. working through big media, big government and big business, they have locked arms to advance a pernicious woke agenda designed to tell the american people what to think. what values are acceptable. the ruling elites in washington have never been more out of touch, more intent on -- on imposing their agenda on every one of us. but there is a cure. that cure is a republican

leadership and american freedom. [applause] my fellow republicans, as a new republican majority gathers on capitol hill, the role of oversight will be important. the senator and i both know it is a critical role of the congress to hold the administration at its failings accountable. make the argument against administration's policies and public debate. i truly believed to win the future, we republicans and our elected leaders must do more than criticize and complain. we must unite our party around a bold, optimistic agenda that offers a clear choice and lays a blasting foundation for victory in 2024 and beyond. [applause] we have to have a freedom

agenda. a freedom agenda that is crowned in our highest ideals. we have to provide for the common defense, stand strong against russian aggression, armed taiwan and continue to hold china accountable and end the flatlining of our national defense spending and give our soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines the resources they need to defend this nation. [applause] to revive our economy, we need to make the trump-penn's tax cuts permanent and we need to unleash american energy and allow the american people access to all the god-given resources of our land. [applause] we need to support law enforcement. we need to secure our border and end the crisis by continuing to build the wall and restore the

remain in mexico policy that reduced illegal immigration by 90%. [applause] we need to follow the example of arizona and advance universal school choice for every american family in every state of the union. we need to be prepared to stand for liberties and -- liberties enshrined in the constitution. with our administration, having appointed to the supreme court the three justices that gave us a new beginning for life. we must not rest. we must not relent until we restore the sanctity of life to the center of american law in every state in the land. finally, finally, we must

recognize that we live in a time when members of the democratic party routinely demean the american founding. when democrats had sought for years to rewrite the liberties enshrined in our constitution. there was even talk of trying to pack the court, or change the jurisdiction of the supreme court to achieve outcomes they couldn't achieve at the ballot box. i think we need to recognize that our party may will be the last line of defense for the constitution of the united states. every officeholder and every member of our armed forces takes the same oath, to support and defend the constitution against all enemies foreign and domestic.

to bear true faith and allegiance to the same. they take the obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion. they pledge to well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office they are about to enter. it ends with a prayer. so help me, god. the american people must know that our party will be the party that keeps our oath. to the constitution. even when political expediency may suggest we do otherwise. we must, as proverbs 15 says, we must be the leaders who keep our oath even when it hurts. for the republican party can lead america into a boundless future. we must be the party of the constitution of the united states of america. [applause]

to all the members of the republican jewish coalition, my fellow americans, in these challenging times let's have faith. let's have faith in the ideals of our founders and the boundless capacity of every american in freedom to live the american dream. let's also draw our inspiration from the story of israel itself. think about it. how probable is it that a man name abraham, who ruled no empire, commanded no army, delivered no prophecy, how improbable is it he should become one of the most influential people in the human race? a progeny to her of your face and mine. a group that comprises just 1/5

of 1% of mankind would outlive and outshine the world's greatest empires. syria has fallen. rome is no more. the walls of babylon have been reclaimed by the sands of time yet the jewish people remain strong and proud. and free. [applause] how likely is it that after 2000 years of exile, at a millennia being scattered to the four corners of the earth, centuries of relentless persecution and hardship and just four years after walking through the valley of the shadow of death, that same jewish people should return to their ancestral homeland created in a day to become a new , free, powerful, proud and prosperous jewish state of israel. [applause]

there is only one explanation for the miracle of israel. it is a testimony of generations of your people. that should inspire americans in this generation as much as it has inspired americans in every generation. that israel stands for the principle that the promises of god are true. [applause] winston churchill said in a speech before the congress, the relationship between his nation and ours, words that apply to the relationship between america and israel just as much. winston churchill said, he must

in -- indeed have a blind soul that can see some purpose or design is not being worked here below of which we have the honor to be faithful servants. and that he admonish of our relationship as i speak today of america's alliance with israel. that in the days to come, the people of the jewish state of israel and the united states of america will come in his words, for their own safety, for the good of all, walk together in majesty and justice and peace. and i know we will. i do not know what the future holds for my family or yours, but we know who holds the future. if we will better renew our faith in him, and in his eternal

promise, i believe the best days for america and our most cherished ally israel are yet to come. we will walk together in a boundless future of freedom and inspire all mankind, so help us god. [applause] thank you very much. [applause] god bless you, god bless israel and god bless america. [applause] ♪