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As Jewish Republicans gather, Ron DeSantis is a star attraction while Donald Trump Zooms in
LAS VEGAS (JTA) — Donald Trump changed his mind and is ready to speak to the Republican Jewish Coalition. What’s not as clear is how ready Jewish Republicans are to hear from him.
As of last week, the group said Trump had cited an undefined “conflict” in turning down an invitation to address its annual convening in Las Vegas. But that was before he announced his bid for another shot at the presidency on Tuesday, making him the first and so far the only nominee to formally do so, and on Thursday the organization said Trump would speak via satellite.
The star of the conference appears to be Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has a prime speaking slot, as opposed to Trump’s less auspicious slot. One influential conference-goer who spoke on the condition of anonymity in order not to be attached to a presidential nominee too early in the process said DeSantis was his favorite going into the weekend. DeSantis, he said, embraced Trump’s policies, but more effectively and with “discipline.”
The conference is taking place, as it has for years, in the Venetian casino resort, until recently owned by Miriam Adelson, the widow of Sheldon Adelson, who was until he died in 2021 a Republican kingmaker; his endorsement of Trump in May 2016 was seen as a sign that the entire GOP was now embracing the one-time outsider.
The conference is an opportunity for candidates to meet with donors who could make or break their campaigns. As it got underway this week, delegates wandered the halls among the slot machines and crap games reconnecting and checking in; former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie was seen rolling his carry-on bag through the lobby.
Organizers said they expected at least 850 delegates throughout the event (the Saturday night dinner usually attracts more), a bigger number than last year, when travel was still depressed because of the pandemic and there were still three years before the next presidential election.
RJC conferences are often the first stop for likely contenders ahead of presidential election years, which is why Trump made personal appearances in 2015 and again in 2019. This conference is drawing national attention; organizers said they had about 100 RSVPs from the media.
Trump’s speaking slot, crammed in during a crowded Saturday-morning schedule, and his remote participation are signals that relations between Trump and the signature Republican Jewish group, which have blown hot and cold, are in a cooling-off stage. (The only other speaker phoning it in is Israeli Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu, who has a government to form in a distant land.)
Trump’s lies about the 2020 election, which he lost to President Joe Biden, and his insistence that his endorsees echo the lies, are seen as a drag on the GOP. Republicans are now openly criticizing him after the Nov. 8 midterms, in which they expected to win the U.S. House of Representatives by a broad margin and retake the Senate, fell flat. Republicans barely retook the House, and the Senate remains in Democratic hands.
DeSantis stood out in those elections for wiping out the Democratic opposition in his state, on a day Republicans fared much more poorly than expected nationwide, losing a slew of statewide elections they thought would be shoo-ins.
DeSantis has the coveted Saturday night slot, sharing it with Nikki Haley, the former ambassador to the United Nations. DeSantis is already making inroads among Jewish conservatives, and from the start of his governorship sought to prove his pro-Israel credentials, leading one early Cabinet meeting from Jerusalem. Haley, who has not yet made clear whether she is running in 2024, is a star for right-leaning pro-Israel groups for helping to shepherd through changes in U.S. and U.N. policy that marginalized Palestinians.
Trump is squeezed among 12 speakers on Saturday morning, a time when folks are expected to keep it short and sweet. Joining him are a number of speakers either not in contention for the presidency — Jewish Republican congressmen David Kustoff of Tennessee, Max Miller of Ohio and George Santos of New York — or long-shots such as South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott and also-rans whom Trump annihilated in 2016, including Christie and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz. (Miller and Santos are freshman Trump endorsees who have embraced Trump’s election denialism; Santos was at the Jan. 6 protests.)
Opening the conference Friday night are four speakers, three of whom have notably separated themselves from Trump: former Vice President Mike Pence, who has said this week that he and Trump no longer speak and that he remains angry at the president for not stopping the angry mob that called for Pence’s death during the deadly Jan. 6, 2001 insurrection; Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, a consistent opponent of Trump since 2015; and Mike Pompeo, Trump’s secretary of state who has in recent days said Trump’s victim act is getting old. All three are seen as presidential contenders.
The conference is open to the public on Friday and Saturday, But it really started earlier in the week with smaller private meetings between the major Jewish Republican donors and others in the party. Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who has also distanced himself from Trump, spoke privately with RJC bigwigs on Thursday night.
Trump remains popular in some Jewish conservative circles; he was honored by the Zionist Organization of America earlier this month — an event that he attended in person. Trump executed historic changes in Israel policy, among other things, moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, dropping a commitment to a two-state outcome and quitting the Iran nuclear deal. Biden is keeping the embassy in Jerusalem, but hopes to restore two-state outcome ambitions and reenter the Iran deal.
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‘For As Long As Necessary’: Katz Says Campaign Against Iran Entering Decisive Stage
Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz and his Greek counterpart Nikos Dendias make statements to the press, at the Ministry of Defense in Athens Greece, Jan. 20, 2026. Photo: REUTERS/Louisa Gouliamaki
i24 News – Israel Katz said Saturday that the confrontation with Iran had entered a “decisive phase,” as US and Israeli strikes on Iranian targets continued and regional tensions escalated.
Speaking after a security assessment at Israel’s defense headquarters alongside Eyal Zamir, chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces, and senior military and intelligence officials, the Israeli defense minister said the campaign against the Islamic Republic would continue “for as long as necessary.”
“The global and regional struggle against Iran, led by American President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is intensifying and entering its decisive phase,” Katz said.
Katz also praised US strikes on Kharg Island, a key Iranian oil hub, describing them as a “severe blow” to the Iranian regime. He said the attacks were an appropriate response to Iranian threats against the strategic Strait of Hormuz and to what he called Tehran’s attempts to pressure the international community.
At the same time, Katz said the Israeli Air Force was continuing a “powerful wave of attacks” against targets in Tehran and other parts of Iran.
He accused the Iranian leadership of using “regional and global terrorism” and strategic blackmail in an effort to deter Israel and the United States from pursuing their military campaign, warning that such actions would be met with a “strong and uncompromising response.”
Katz added that the outcome of the conflict would ultimately depend on the Iranian population. “Only the Iranian people can put an end to this situation through a determined struggle, until the overthrow of the terrorist regime and the salvation of Iran,” he said.
According to the minister, the confrontation now pits the Iranian regime’s determination to survive against growing military pressure from Israel and its allies.
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Trump Rejects Efforts to Launch Iran Ceasefire Talks, Sources Say
US President Donald Trump speaks on the day he honors reigning Major League Soccer (MLS) champion Inter Miami CF players and team officials with an event in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, US, March 5, 2026. Photo: REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
President Donald Trump’s administration has rebuffed efforts by Middle Eastern allies to start diplomatic negotiations aimed at ending the Iran war that started two weeks ago with a massive US-Israeli air assault, according to three sources familiar with the efforts.
Iran, for its part, has rejected the possibility of any ceasefire until US and Israeli strikes end, two senior Iranian sources told Reuters, adding that several countries had been trying to mediate an end to the conflict.
The lack of interest from Washington and Tehran suggests both sides are digging in for an extended conflict, even as the widening war inflicts civilian casualties and Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz sends oil prices soaring.
US strikes on Iran’s Kharg Island, the country’s main oil export hub, on Friday night underscored Trump’s determination to press ahead with his military assault. Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has vowed to keep the Strait of Hormuz shut and threatened to step up attacks on neighboring countries.
The war has killed more than 2,000 people, mostly in Iran, and created the biggest-ever oil supply disruption as maritime traffic has halted in the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil is transported.
ATTEMPTS TO OPEN LINES OF COMMUNICATION
Oman, which mediated talks before the war, has tried multiple times to open a line of communication, but the White House has made clear it is not interested, according to two sources, who like others in this story were granted anonymity in order to speak freely about diplomatic matters.
A senior White House official confirmed Trump has rebuffed those efforts to start talks and is focused on pressing ahead with the war to further weaken Tehran’s military capabilities.
“He’s not interested in that right now, and we’re going to continue with the mission unabated. Maybe there’s a day, but not right now,” the official said.
During the first week of the war, Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform that Iran’s leadership and military were so battered by US-Israeli strikes that they wanted to talk, but that it was “Too Late!” He has a history of shifting foreign policy stances without warning, making it hard to rule out that he might test the waters for restarting diplomacy.
“President Trump said new potential leadership in Iran has indicated they want to talk and eventually will talk. For now, Operation Epic Fury continues unabated,” a second senior White House official said when asked to comment on this story.
The Iranian sources said Tehran has rejected efforts by several countries to negotiate a ceasefire until the US and Israel end their airstrikes and meet Iran’s demands, which include a permanent end to US and Israeli attacks and compensation as part of a ceasefire.
Egypt, which was involved in mediation before the war, has also tried to reopen communications, according to three security and diplomatic sources. While the efforts do not appear to have made progress, they have secured some military restraint from neighboring countries hit by Iran, according to one of the sources.
Egypt’s foreign ministry, the government of Oman and the Iranian government did not respond to requests for comment.
POSITIONS HARDEN ON ALL SIDES
The war’s impact on global oil markets has significantly increased the cost for the United States.
Some US officials and advisers to Trump urge a quick end to the war, warning that surging gasoline prices could exact a high political price from the president’s Republican Party, with US midterm elections looming.
Others are pressing Trump to maintain the offensive against the Islamic Republic to destroy its missile program and prevent it from obtaining a nuclear weapon, according to Reuters reporting.
Trump’s rejection of diplomatic efforts could indicate that, for now, the administration has no plans for a quick end to the war.
Indeed, both the United States and Iran appear even less willing to engage than during the opening days of the war, when senior US officials reached out to Oman to discuss de-escalating, according to several sources.
One source said Iran’s top security official, Ali Larijani, and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had also sought to use Oman as a conduit for ceasefire discussions that would have involved U.S. Vice President JD Vance.
But those discussions have not materialized.
Instead, Iran’s position has hardened, said a third senior Iranian source.
“Whatever was communicated previously through the diplomatic channels is irrelevant now,” said the source.
“The Guards strongly believe that if they lose control over the Strait of Hormuz, Iran will lose the war,” the source added, referring to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, an elite paramilitary force that controls large parts of the economy.
“Therefore, the Guards will not accept any ceasefire, ceasefire talks, or diplomatic efforts, and Iran’s political leaders will not engage in such talks despite attempts by several countries.”
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US Strikes More Than 90 Iranian Military Targets on Kharg Island, CENTCOM Says
A satellite image shows an oil terminal at Kharg Island, Iran, February 25, 2026. Photo: 2026 Planet Labs PBC/Handout via REUTERS
United States forces executed a large-scale precision strike on Kharg Island in Iran on Friday night, the US Central Command said on Saturday.
“US forces successfully struck more than 90 Iranian military targets on Kharg Island, while preserving the oil infrastructure,” CENTCOM said.
The strike destroyed naval mine storage facilities, missile storage bunkers, and multiple other military sites, the US military said in a post on X.
President Donald Trump threatened on Friday to strike the oil infrastructure of Iran’s Kharg Island hub, unless Tehran stopped attacking vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.