Donald Trump Postpones Trip to Israel Until 'After I Become President'
— -- Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump tweeted early this morning that he was postponing his trip to Israel until "after I become President."
Trump was scheduled to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Dec. 28 in Jerusalem, an Israeli official confirmed to ABC News on Wednesday.
“I didn’t want to put [Netanyahu] under pressure,” Trump told Fox News this morning.
Trump said he canceled the trip for “lots of different reasons,” adding that the trip was never a done deal. "All I'm doing is postponing it and I think that was the better decision," he said.
The prime minister’s office released a statement on Wednesday saying Netanyahu rejected Trump’s recent comments to ban Muslims from the United States.
“The State of Israel respects all religions and strictly guarantees the rights of all its citizens. At the same time, Israel is fighting against militant Islam that targets Muslims, Christians and Jews alike and threatens the entire world," the statement read. “As for the meeting with Mr. Trump that was set some two weeks ago, the Prime Minister decided earlier this year on a uniform policy to agree to meet with all presidential candidates from either party who visit Israel and ask for a meeting. This policy does not represent an endorsement of any candidate or his or her views. Rather, it is an expression of the importance that Prime Minister Netanyahu attributes to the strong alliance between Israel and the United States."
