Brian Osgood
Al-Jazeera / November 17, 2024
While pro-Israel views are common in US politics, Trump’s picks signal support for far-right Israeli aspirations.
During the final weeks of the 2024 United States presidential race, former President Donald Trump spoke with sympathy to Arab American and Muslim voters enraged by the country’s support for Israel’s wars in Gaza and Lebanon.
Trump visited Dearborn, Michigan, known as the “capital” of Arab America. And he spoke directly to Lebanese Americans fearing for their families overseas.
“During my Administration, we had peace in the Middle East, and we will have peace again very soon!” Trump wrote on social media.
“I will fix the problems caused by [Vice President] Kamala Harris and [President] Joe Biden and stop the suffering and destruction in Lebanon. I want to see the Middle East return to real peace, a lasting peace.”
But following a thumping victory at the polls, Trump is preparing to return to the White House with a coterie of some of the Republican Party’s most vehemently pro-Israel figures.
While some critics speculated that Trump would move away from a hawkish foreign policy, his picks for key administration and cabinet positions have signalled that — whatever changes may come during his second term — a break with Israel is not likely to be among them.
Several of Trump’s nominees not only support continued US military and diplomatic assistance for Israel, but also echo the views and goals of Israeli ultranationalists, who support the expansion of illegal Israeli settlements into Palestinian territory.
Meanwhile, the war in Gaza continues to drive civilian casualties, with at least 43,799 killed since the conflict began in October 2023. A recent report from a United Nations special committee found that Israel’s methods in the Palestinian enclave were “consistent with genocide“.
What have Trump’s high-level picks said about the ongoing conflict in the Middle East? Here are a few of his nominees, in their own words.
Marco Rubio, nominee to be secretary of state
A longtime foreign policy hawk, Senator Marco Rubio of Florida has been a strong supporter of Israel throughout his political career. He is in line to be secretary of state, the US’s top diplomat.
February 26, 2016: Rubio made a bid for president in 2016, facing a crowded pool of Republican candidates including Trump. At a Republican primary debate in Houston, Texas, he emphasised that he would “stand firmly on the side of Israel” — and used his position to draw a contrast with Trump.
- “I don’t know if Donald realises this. I’m sure it’s not his intent, perhaps. But the position you’ve taken is an anti-Israel position. And here’s why. Because you cannot be an honest broker in a dispute between two sides in which one of the sides is constantly acting in bad faith,” Rubio said.
- “Instead, here’s what the Palestinians do. They teach their four-year-old children that killing Jews is a glorious thing. Here’s what Hamas does. They launch rockets and terrorist attacks against Israel on an ongoing basis. The bottom line is, a deal between Israel and the Palestinians — given the current makeup of the Palestinians — is not possible.”
October 9, 2023: Rubio reacted to the October 7 attacks in southern Israel by calling for an overwhelming military response.
- “Israel has no choice but to seek the complete eradication of Hamas in Gaza. There simply is no diplomatic solution or ‘measured response’ available,” Rubio wrote on social media.
- “This tragically necessary effort will come at a horrifying price. But the price of failing to permanently eliminate this group of sadistic savages is even more horrifying.”
November 2024: Confronted with activists from the antiwar group Code Pink, Rubio responded forcefully to questions about whether he would support a ceasefire in Gaza.
- “Are you filming this? I want you guys to get this. I want them to destroy every element of Hamas they can get their hands on. These people are vicious animals who did horrifying crimes,” Rubio said.
August 30, 2024: Rubio sent a letter to the outgoing administration of President Joe Biden criticising the decision to sanction Israeli settlers linked to anti-Palestinian violence in the occupied West Bank.
- “Israel has consistently sought peace with the Palestinians. It is unfortunate that the Palestinians, whether it be the Palestinian Authority or FTOs [Foreign Terrorist Organisations] such as Hamas, have rejected such overtures,” Rubio wrote.
- “Israelis rightfully living in their historic homeland are not the impediment to peace; the Palestinians are.”
Pete Hegseth, nominee for secretary of defence
A US Army veteran who deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, Fox News host Pete Hegseth has been tapped to head the Department of Defense, in one of the country’s highest-ranking military positions. If Hegseth is confirmed, only the president himself would have more authority over the armed forces.
September 14, 2016: In an interview with the Jewish Press, Hegseth explained that he grew up a Baptist and never met a Jewish person until attending college. But he accused higher education of spreading the “seeds of anti-Semitism”.
- “We have to be more willing to publicly talk about Israel among citizens who think of it as an abstraction, who don’t truly understand the existential threat to it,” Hegseth said.
- “This is not some mystical land that can be dismissed. It’s the story of God’s chosen people.”
February 2018: Speaking at the Arutz Sheva Conference in Jerusalem, Hegseth pledged to continue “fighting the fake news about the Arab-Israeli conflict”.
He also appeared to endorse demolishing the Al-Aqsa Mosque, one of the holiest sites in Islam, to make room for a “Third Temple”, a longstanding goal of Israeli ultranationalists and evangelical Christians.
- “If you walk the ground today, you understand there is no such thing as the outcome of a two-state solution. There is one state,” Hegseth said.
- He then proceeded to describe a visit to the Al-Aqsa site, also known as the Temple Mount: “And as you stand there, you can’t help but behold the miracle before you. And it got me thinking about another miracle that I hope all of you don’t see too far away. Because 1917 was a miracle. 1948 was a miracle. 1967 was a miracle. 2017, the declaration of Jerusalem as the capital, was a miracle. And there’s no reason why the miracle of the re-establishment of the temple on the Temple Mount is not possible.”
May 2018: Speaking with his co-hosts on the TV programme Fox & Friends, Hegseth appeared to brush off the Palestinian death toll during the Great March of Return protests. When confronted with the possibility that Israeli snipers had fired on “innocent people”, including children, Hegseth shrugged and said, “Meh.”
- “The innocent blood is on the hands of the terrorist who put the kid out to charge a fence with no prospect of crossing that border,” he said.
Mike Huckabee, nominee for US ambassador to Israel
A former Arkansas governor who unsuccessfully ran for president in 2008 and 2016, Mike Huckabee is an evangelical Christian and strong supporter of “Greater Israel”, a term often used to describe the proposed Israeli annexation of Palestinian territory.
Early 2008: At a campaign stop during his first bid for the presidency, Huckabee argued that being Palestinian was a made-up identity.
- “I have to be careful saying this because people will really get offended. There is really no such thing as a Palestinian,” Huckabee said. “You have Arabs and Persians. And you have such complexity within that. There’s really no such thing. That’s been a political tool to try to force land away from Israel.”
May 31, 2015: Speaking at an Israel Day concert, Huckabee reflected on his first trip to Israel in 1973. He proceeded to say that Israel had no “better friend in the United States” than him and refuted Palestinian claims to Jerusalem.
- “I know there are people who think that the smart way to bring peace to the Middle East is to divide Jerusalem up and give away more territory. I suggest that the one way to have peace is to make clear that Jerusalem will never be divided, and it will be in the hands of Israel.”
- “We never can accept the notion that Israel will be divided, that Jerusalem will be carved in half. Let us be clear: The boundaries of Israel are not given by the United Nations but by almighty God.”
August 18, 2015: During a news conference at the illegal Israeli settlement of Shiloh, Huckabee endorsed a vision of Israel that included the occupied West Bank, calling the area by the biblical name “Judea and Samaria”. He also denounced a deal to contain Iran’s nuclear programme.
- “I want to show solidarity with the country that most reflects a mirror image of the American spirit and also to show solidarity with the Israeli people and to show their extreme disgust with any deal with Iran.”
- “I would think that, if you’re going to visit Israel, you should visit all of Israel. And that should include Judea and Samaria.”
February 29, 2024: Huckabee told the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews that he was overwhelmed with emotion after the October 7 attacks on southern Israel. He also described Israel’s illegal settlements in the West Bank as the fulfilment of biblical prophecy.
- “This is evil. The worst level of evil that exists on our planet today, we saw on October 7. And for anyone to march in the streets, whether it’s America or Europe, and show support for this uncivilised and savage behaviour, to me, is a mark of darkness in our world.”
- “When people use the term ‘occupy’, I say, ‘Yeah, Israel is occupying the land.’ But it’s the occupation of a land that God gave them 3,500 years ago. It is their land. The title deed was given by God to Abraham and to his heirs. So you want to talk occupation? I never use the term West Bank. I find it offensive. We’re talking about Judea and Samaria.”
- “As horrible as the Nazis were, they weren’t posting their atrocities on social media and trying to trumpet what they were doing to the world, which is what makes this horrendous thing Hamas has done so much, to me, worse.”
Elise Stefanik, nominee for ambassador to the UN
A congresswoman from New York, Stefanik went viral last year during congressional hearings about anti-Semitism on college campuses: Her blunt questioning of several university leaders helped precipitate several resignations.
Critics say it also contributed to harsh crackdowns on pro-Palestine student demonstrators, as Stefanik conflated protest slogans like “From the River to the Sea” with calls for anti-Semitic genocide.
May 19, 2024: Stefanik travelled to the Israeli Knesset to deliver an address in which she described Israel’s war on Gaza as a moral crusade. She also called for the withdrawal of US funds from UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees.
- “What we are witnessing today is a story of the forces of good versus evil. The forces of civilisation against the forces of barbarism, of humanity versus depravity.”
- “For years, I have been a leading proponent and partner to President Trump in his historic support for Israeli independence and security including… President Trump’s wise decision to call out UNRWA for what it is — a hive of anti-Semitism — and to eliminate every dollar of its US funding.”
September 23, 2024: Following a UN General Assembly vote calling on Israel to end its unlawful occupation of Palestinian territory, Stefanik released a statement condemning the proceedings.
- “Last week, the United Nations overwhelmingly passed a disgraceful antisemitic resolution to demand that Israel surrender to barbaric terrorists who seek the destruction of both Israel and America.”
Mike Waltz, appointee for national security adviser
A member of the House of Representatives and a former Green Beret, Representative Mike Waltz of Florida has expressed firm support for Israel. He currently serves on the House Armed Services Committee. He previously chided the Biden administration for providing Israel with insufficient support.
August 16, 2019: In an appearance on Fox News, Waltz expressed his support for Israel’s decision to bar his congressional colleagues Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar from entering the country over their support for the pro-Palestinian Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.
Tlaib, a Palestinian American, was later offered a “humanitarian” visit, which she rejected.
- “If they want to do a separate trip, then still hear all sides. Hear the Israeli government. Hear from the Israeli settlers. Hear from farmers, like I said, who are under rocket attack. And also go to the Palestinian Authority. But that wasn’t their agenda. Their agenda was only to hear one side,” Waltz said.
- Of the BDS movement, Waltz added: “It’s directed directly at Jerusalem. It’s directed directly because they’re Jews. And it’s anti-Semitic. And I think that is completely reasonable for the Israeli government to say, ‘Hey, you don’t want to hear our point of view. Access denied.’”
August 17, 2024: In another interview with Fox News, Waltz approvingly noted that, when Trump was in office, the Iranian economy was “broke” and was “in shambles” due to crushing sanctions.
He also credited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s “strong actions” with containing the threat represented by Iran and its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
- “I think it’s Bibi that is deterring Iran right now, because just a few weeks ago, they had a house in the middle of Tehran, under the protective umbrella of the IRGC during a presidential inauguration, go boom and take out Hamas’s political leader [Ismail] Haniyeh.”
October 25, 2024: Following Israeli strikes on Iran, Waltz noted in a social media post that Israel had avoided targeting oil fields and nuclear facilities.
- “This might be Israel’s last best chance to diminish Irans [sic] nuclear program and shut down their cash. Did Biden/Harris pressure Israel once again to do less than it should?”
Brian Osgood – reporter for Al-Jazeera English based in California
