Thank you so much. Thank you for that great Sunshine Summit Welcome. You guys got a lot of passion and spirit to be here on a beautiful Saturday afternoon after two days of speeches. Thank you for that very warm welcome, and for hanging in here all the way through the end of the day. Thank you.
Ladies and Gentleman, we have much to be proud of as republicans, but today actually, like all of you, I am very angry. I am heartsick and I am heartbroken at the carnage in Pairs. I am filled with revulsion for the terrorists who carried out these brutal acts, that we had seen play out on our television screens, in the murderous Islamic extremism that fuels their violent hatred. I am profoundly disappointed that our own president cannot speak with the same clarity of purpose as do President Hollande and Prime Minister David Cameron.
I am angry that just yesterday morning our President, against all evidence, declared ISIS contained and took a victory lap. ISIS is not a JV team, Mister President, they are not contained. They are at our shores and they measure their victory in body count.
I am angry, really angry, that Hillary Clinton dares to ask, and what difference does it make how four Americans died in Benghazi? Then she tells us, after that purposeful terrorist attack, that we must learn how to empathize with our enemies. Mrs. Clinton, when the United States does not answer a purposeful terrorist attack, with a purposeful and powerful response of our own, and instead blames a video, then we invite more terrorism and more bloodshed.
Like all of you, I am angry. I am angry the President Obama and Hillary Clinton declared victory in Iraq in 2011, abandoning all of our hard-won gains for political expediency, and contrary to the advice of every General who spoke with, them thus leaving vast swathes of territory and too much weaponry to be gobbled up by ISIS.
I am angry that President Obama unilaterally decides that we will accept, in this nation, a hundred thousand Syrian refugees, while his administration admits that we cannot determine their tries to terrorism. Mostly, I am outraged, because the murder, the mayhem, the danger, the tragedy, that we see unfolding in Paris, in the middle east, around the world, and too often in our own homeland, are the direct consequences of this administration's policies. You cannot lead from behind.
The world is a very dangerous and a very tragic place when we do not lead. We cannot be the world's policeman, but we must be the world's leader. So Ladies and Gentlemen, it is worth considering at this pivotal point in our nation's history, it is worth considering why only this nation can lead.
Our nation was founded on a very unique premise, on a visionary idea. That each individual life has promise, and potential, and value. That we judge an individual by the content of his or her character, as Martin Luther King taught us, instead of as a member of a group.
Our nation was founded on the idea that each one of us has the right to fulfill our potential. Our founders expressed this right as life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Our founders said, and this was the truly radical part of our founding idea, our founders said that this right, to find and use our God-given gifts to fulfill our potential, the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, comes from God and cannot be taken away by man or government.
Our constitution, ladies and gentlemen, our constitution was written as much to curb the abuse of power, as it was to protect our individual rights. We are not a perfect nation, and we have worked hard over history to build a more perfect union, but we are an exceptional nation.
Because despite all of our imperfections, despite all of our struggles over history, it is nevertheless true, that here in this nation more things, have been more possible, for more people, regardless of their circumstances, more than anywhere else on earth.
It is also true that we are the only nation, in the history of the world, with military superiority, who uses that power not to conquer territory, not to subjugate others, but to liberate people, to uplift people, and to comfort people all over the world. This mister president, is why we are an exceptional nation, and because we are exceptional we must lead.
The philosopher Aristotle once said, the courage is the most important of virtues, because without courage the practice of the other virtues is impossible. So we must have the courage to lead. To give us that courage, we must remember who we are.
The Statue of Liberty was a gift from the people of France, and in that iconic figure, the French Americans as we must be. Lady Liberty stands tall and strong, we must have the strongest economy, and the strongest military on the face of the planet and everyone must know it.
As President I will restore our prosperity and possibilities for every American, regardless of their circumstances. I will cut our government down to size and hold it accountable. As commander-in-chief, I will invest in our military, honor their sacrifice, value their service, and listen to their advice.
There is one candidate in this race who says that he knows more about ISIS that our Generals. He's wrong, and deeply misguided. We must also, to have the strongest military on the face of the planet, to honor and value those who serve, we must also care for those who have already served. We must finally, after years of talk, reform the Veterans Administration, from top to bottom.
It is a stain on our nation's honor, when our veterans are not given the care and the respect that they have already so richly earned. It is a stain on our nation's honor, when we learned that three hundred and seven thousand veterans, both died before they have access to health care, and the VA hands out a hundred and forty million dollars’ worth of bonuses.
Lady Liberty is tall and strong, as this nation must always be. Lady Liberty is also clear-eyed and resolute. She does not shield her eyes on the realities, or the evils of the world. So let us be clear-eyed, no, Mrs. Clinton, no President Obama, climate change is not our most pressing national security challenge.
Our most pressing and immediate security challenge is radical, Islamist terrorism, around the world, and here at home. Both lone wolves, and packs of wolves. ISIS is an evil that must be confronted, and it must be destroyed, and we must call it what it is. ISIS, DAESH, evil. They are at war with us, and all we represent. So we must wage this war, and we must win.
This does this does not mean that we repeat all the nation building, and naiveté, the mistakes of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. But it does mean that we must deny Isis territory. We cannot permit them to rape, to subjugate, to terrorize, to crucify, and behead their enemies. We cannot permit them to use their territories to train and prepare for Jihad around the world. So we must gather our allies and lead. France, Britain, Germany all are threatened as is every nation in Europe.
Jordan, Kuwait, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the Bahraini, the Emirates, the Curds, all are fighting ISIS on the ground as we speak. Every single one of them has asked the United States of America for support, for weapons, for material, for intelligence sharing. Mostly this administration has said no, I will say yes.
Russia and Iran represent real threats over the medium-term. China is our rising adversary over the long term. Whether we confront near-term threats and enemies or rising adversaries over the longer term, America must always stand with our allies and confront our adversaries. Because when we fail to do so, our allies lose courage and our adversaries press forward.
On day one of my administration, I will send an unmistakable signal to every ally we have, and every adversary we have. I will make two phone calls from the oval office. The first will be to my good friend Bibi Netanyahu to reassure him that the United States of America will stand with Israel, always.
The second phone call would be to the supreme leader of Iran. Realistically he may not take my phone call, but he will get my message. New deal, new deal, with a new President. Until Iran opens every military and every nuclear facility to real anytime, anywhere inspections, by our people not yours, we the United States of America will make it as difficult as possible for you to move money around the global financial system. We do not need anyone's permission, we do not need anyone's collaboration, we must stop the money flow, and with these two phone calls, a loud and clear signal will be sent to every ally and every adversary around the world. The United States of America is back in the leadership business.
I understand the world, and who is in it. I have operated around the world for decades in business, in charity, and in policy. I had held the highest security clearances available to the civilian. I have advised the CIA, the NSA, departments of defense, secretaries of state, and homeland security. We need a president who will speak, who will see, who will act on the truth.
She must understand how truly exceptional this nation is, and call evil by its name. Others will not call this Islamic terrorism. I will, and I have the courage to lead.
Lady Liberty stands tall and strong, America always must. She is clear-eyed and resolute. She faces out into the world as we always must, and she holds her torch high. Because she knows she is a beacon of hope in a very troubled and dangerous world.
We must nominate and elect a President who will proudly accept the mantle of leadership that a weary world is eager for us to wear. I know what such leadership requires, I will recognize dangers with eyes wide open, but I will also embrace with open arms the enormous opportunities and amazing potential of our times.
Many years ago, a hero of mine, Margaret Thatcher once said this. She once said, Margaret Thatcher once said, I am not content to manage the decline of a great nation. Well neither am I, and I think ladies and gentlemen we have been managing the decline of this great nation for far too long now.
I have been tested, and I am prepared, with your prayers, with your support, with your vote, to lead the resurgence of this great nation, here at home and around the world. May God bless you all, and may God continue to bless the most exceptional nation in the world, the United States of America.
Neither the Catt Center nor Iowa State University is affiliated with any individual in the Archives or any political party. Inclusion in the Archives is not an endorsement by the center or the university.