On Wednesday, Donald Trump made the expected announcement that he was recognizing Jerusalem — all of Jerusalem — as the capital of Israel, and moving the US embassy from Tel Aviv. The move has already resulted in violence in Jerusalem and brought widespread condemnation from those in the region and from allies around the world. But Trump isn’t working for them. Or for the interests of the United States.
The decision to shake off warnings from senior officials such as Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and align himself instead with prominent proponents of the move, including Vice President Pence and major donor Sheldon Adelson, underscored the president’s determination to break with past policy and keep a key campaign pledge — despite the potential risks to U.S. interests in the region and the goal of Middle East peace.
Which neatly defines Trump’s audience for this move: Those who are eager to embrace the action as the first step toward Armageddon, and those who simply see it as the ultimate middle finger to the peace process.
Kushner, the president’s son-in-law, had supported the move from early in Trump’s candidacy, and Pence, who is to visit Israel this month, told Trump that his base would love the decision, something the president liked to hear.
That Pence’s base loves the decision because it’s step one in a process they see as leaving all Jews either dead or Christians would seem to make Kushner and Pence unlikely allies, but motivations aside they both got what they wanted. And neither was the biggest voice behind the move.
At a White House dinner earlier this year, Adelson made the issue a main topic, one person said. In the months that followed, Adelson periodically asked others close to Trump what was causing the delay and expressed frustration, these people said.
While Aldeson — and his many, many dollars — was backing the move, warnings were coming fast and … panicky.
Tillerson, mindful of the death of four Americans in militant attacks in Benghazi, Libya, in 2012, “pushed back vocally,” one White House official said. Already at odds with Trump over other aspects of the president’s approach to the Middle East, Tillerson argued that the move could unleash a dangerous chain reaction across the region.
But the only thing keeping Tillerson in his seat is the leaking of the plan to oust him. Trump likely scored Tillerson’s opposition as a positive sign.
Some outside confidants, including billionaire Tom Barrack, urged Trump to hold off, worried that the move would deepen regional tensions caused by Saudi Arabia’s political shake-up and Iran’s growing reach.
“It’s insane. We’re all resistant,” said one Trump confidant who recently spoke to the president about it. “He doesn’t realize what all he could trigger by doing this.”
Realizing things … is not Trump’s forte. What’s most important to Trump is not the effects on the ground, the removal of the United States as a broker to the peace process, or the pleas of allies. What worries Donald Trump is just how it looks to his voters.
Several advisers said he did not seem to have a full understanding of the issue and instead appeared to be focused on “seeming pro-Israel,” in the words of one, and “making a deal,” in the words of another.
Yes, he seems pro-Israel. That doesn’t mean is pro-Israel, or that this move is at all favorable to the interests of either Israel or the region. But, everyone should just buck up.
Even officials with misgivings sought to look on the bright side Wednesday, saying that Trump’s statement did nothing to change any of the components being considered by the administration as parts of a comprehensive peace agreement.
See? Trump and Kushner were never going to consider any solution that didn’t include all of Jerusalem going to Israel so really, nothing changed. Except, of course, having the hopelessness of any peace process confirmed.
Clashes between Palestinian protesters and Israeli soldiers broke out Thursday in Ramallah and other places in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, one day after President Trump announced that his administration would recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. …
“This will be bad,” said an ambulance driver.