Former Governor Mike Huckabee speaking at the 2011 Republican Leadership Conference in New Orleans, Louisiana (Wikipedia)
President-elect Donald Trump has tapped Mike Huckabee, the former governor of Arkansas and Baptist minister to be America’s next ambassador to Israel. Huckabee is known for being a strong supporter of Israel who once said there is no such thing as a Palestinian nation.
“I am pleased to announce that the Highly Respected former Governor of Arkansas, Mike Huckabee, has been nominated to be The United States Ambassador to Israel,” Donald Trump said in a statement. “Mike has been a great public servant, Governor, and Leader in Faith for many years,” Donald Trump said in a statement. “He loves Israel, and the people of Israel, and likewise, the people of Israel love him. Mike will work tirelessly to bring about Peace in the Middle East!”
Mike Huckabee said on Twitter, “It’s been incredible day as Donald Trump asked me to serve as Ambassador to Israel, a land I have been visiting since 1973 when I was a teenager. It will be a privilege to serve my country and my President in this role.”
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Mike Huckabee’s daughter Sarah Huckabee Sanders served as the White House Press Secretary in the First Trump Administration and is currently the governor of Arkansas.
“I may be a little biased, but I can’t think of a better pick to serve as America’s ambassador to Israel than Gov Mike Huckabee. Congratulations dad! So proud!!!” she tweeted. “I went to Israel for the first time with my dad when I was eleven and it changed my life. There is no one President Trump could have picked with a greater love for the Israeli people and commitment to the unbreakable bond between America and Israel than him,” she posted on X. “Love you dad!”
A video recorded during his run for president in 2008 shows Mike Huckabee telling two Orthodox Jewish men, “Basically, there really is no such thing as — I need to be careful about saying this, because people will really get upset — there’s really no such thing as a Palestinian. There’s not.”
“You have Arabs and Persians,” Huckabee added. “And there’s such complexity in that. But there’s really no such thing [as Palestinians]. That’s been a political tool to try and force land away from Israel. My point is, if that’s the issue, if it’s real estate, if you look at a map, and say here is how much Israel has and here is how much the Arab states hold, there is plenty of land.”
Comments such as these have some worried that the second Trump administration will reject the idea of a two state solution with the eventual establishment of an independent Palestinian state.
