President Donald Trump reveled in the impending opening of the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem in a Monday tweet urging his supporters to watch the ceremony.
U.S. Embassy opening in Jerusalem will be covered live on @FoxNews & @FoxBusiness. Lead up to 9:00 A.M. (eastern) event has already begun. A great day for Israel!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 14, 2018
Trump officially recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel in December 2017. U.S. law has dictated since 1995 that the U.S. Embassy must be moved to Jerusalem and every president since Bill Clinton has pledged to follow through on the move.
Trump has particularly reveled in his ability to cut the cost of the embassy and open it ahead of schedule.
“So they walk up to my desk and they give me this beautiful folder and I’m supposed to sign. I said, ‘What is this?’ And I’m half signed. He said, ‘Sir, we are building an embassy in Jerusalem, sir.’ I said, ‘How much?’,” adding “They said — I kid you not — they said, ‘Sir, $1 billion,” Trump relayed in a recent anecdote.
He added that he called his U.S. Ambassador to the Israel and told him “you can do that for $150,000. … You know what, spend $200,000-$300,000 — that’s OK too.”