Then we had to decide on a building. And they came in, one of the generals. “Sir, would you please sign this order?” I said, “What’s it for?” “We’re going to build — start the process” — it would take 30 years, by the way — “of building the embassy.” The actual embassy.

“How much is it?” “One billion dollars, sir.” I said, “Wait a minute, this is a one-story building.” (Laughter.) That’s what I do. How do you spend a billion? “Sir, we’re going to purchase land, and then we’re going to get approvals. And we’re going to….”

I said, “How old are we going to be by the time this thing finishes, General?” (Laughter.) “I don’t know, sir, but it’s $1 billion.”

. . .

I called David Friedman. I said, “David, go check Jerusalem. Do we own any land?” He said, “Let me check it out.” He calls me back. He goes, “Sir, we do. We own a much better piece that the piece they want to buy. Much better. It’s bigger. It’s safer. It’s a much better location with better views. And you know what? We have a building on it.” (Laughter and applause.)

And he says, “Sir, I think we can renovate the building for $200,000.” (Applause.) True story. And it’s the only time in my whole life that — you know, usually, I’d say, “Make it a hundred.” I said, “David, it’s too cheap. It doesn’t sound like enough.” I said, “Make it $500,000 or less.”

And we did. And we took this building, which was a very good building —- set back. It had all the things that you need. They like set back, for safety. A big site. A beautiful site. And I said, “Do me another favor. Use Jerusalem stone.” Because a friend of mine in New York has — he’s so proud. He uses Jerusalem stone in his office. He’s a very rich guy. Ron Baron. He’s got a wall of Jerusalem stone.

Every time I come in, he goes, “Oh, this is Jerusalem stone.” And I say, “Ron, you’ve told me that 100 times.” (Laughter.) He said, “You have no idea how expensive it is.” I said, “Listen, you’re in Jerusalem. Can you get Jerusalem stone?” He says, “Yeah, I can buy it real cheap.” (Laughter.) Comes from Jerusalem. So they used Jerusalem stone, and we built it for less than $500,000.

We opened it in four months. That is better than the Wollman Rink story — you want to really know the truth. It’s better. (Applause.) So instead of a billion and a half — don’t forget, the billion was going to be $2 billion and $3 billion. I could tell you stories. But anyway, so we — not only did we get and do what we said I was going to do, but I got the building built and it’s been open for a year and a half. And it’s a beautiful, beautiful embassy. (Applause.)

And maybe someday, they’ll build whatever they want to build, and they’ll have a good time, and they’ll waste a lot of money. But we’ve got a beautiful building now that works beautifully.

— Remarks by President Trump at Values Voter Summit
Omni Shoreham Hotel, Washington, D.C.
October 12, 2019

Beats the heck out of bowing to them!

My administration is confronting this scourge, and we’re standing with our close friend and partner, the State of Israel. (Applause.) And as you know very well, I recognized the eternal capital of Israel and opened the American embassy in Jerusalem. (Applause.) Thank you.

. . .

And every President has promised that for years and years. And they promise it. “We’re going to recognize the capital of Israel, and we’re going to move the embassy to Jerusalem.” But they didn’t do it.

I understand why because, once I got into office, you have no idea the pressure that was put on. . . . The pressure that was put on me by so many different countries. Calling, “Please don’t do it. Please don’t do it.” The last two weeks, I didn’t take anybody’s phone call. I got calls from kings, you can imagine. I got calls from everybody not to do it. “Please don’t do it.”

So what I did is, I said, “You know what I’ll do? I won’t take their call. I’ll call them back in a couple of weeks.” I said, “Do me a favor. Tell the Prime Minister that I’ll call him back in two weeks. I’m busy.” (Laughter.) He said, “Two weeks? That’s a long time.” “Tell the king I’ll call him back in a few days.” (Laughter.) So, anyway — so I did it.

And then I made all of those phone calls. It had a lot of publicity. And we did it. It was a big story. Nothing happened. Remember the world was going to come to an end, right? Nothing happened. I kept saying, “Are we okay?” “Yeah.” “Is there a protest?” “No.”

Three or four days went by. I said, “Well, what’s going on? This is strange.” But then I started making the calls. I said, “King, what do you want? What’s up, King?” (Laughter.) And he goes, “I wanted to call you to tell you that we would be very much opposed.” And I said, “Oh, I wish I spoke to you sooner. Sorry.” (Laughter.) It’s true.

— Remarks by President Trump at Values Voter Summit
Omni Shoreham Hotel, Washington, D.C.
October 12, 2019