Critics tried mightily to prove this by citing his appointments of individuals perceived as unfriendly to Israel; dredging up past dog whistles to antisemites; and even pointing out his pre-election meetings with a couple of them.
Others have highlighted how upset Trump was when Netanyahu congratulated Biden on his election victory while Trump was still trying to prove he had won.
Some have pointed to the fact that Netanyahu was forced to make concessions to Hamas that he did not see in Israel’s best interests.(If that was indeed the case, which is far from certain.)
I admit to having been somewhat concerned by some of this. But in my heart, I believed that Trump’s second term in office would be consistent with his first in both respects: Support for, and even admiration of, the Jewish state. (See video below) As well as his concern for the welfare of the Jewish people.
There are a few news items that put to rest any concerns I may have had (slight though they were).
First, there is this report from VIN:
The U.S. Department of Education, under President Donald Trump’s administration, has opened bombshell investigations into five universities across the country for their alleged failure to combat on-campus antisemitism.
This move signals a strong stance by the administration in holding universities accountable for addressing antisemitic incidents and ensuring safe environments for Jewish students.
Today, Education and Workforce Committee Chairman Tim Walberg (R-MI) issued the following statement after the Department of Education announced investigations into antisemitism on college campuses:
“For the past two years, our committee has uncovered an appalling amount of antisemitism taking place on college campuses. We’ve also heard heartbreaking testimony from Jewish college students who were excited to attend their dream university, only to face threats and harassment from their own classmates and teachers. I’m glad that we finally have an administration taking action to protect Jewish students and hold schools like Columbia, Northwestern, and UC Berkeley accountable for their failures.”
I could not be happier that Trump is taking this to the next level - even though it was started by his predecessor. He could have let it die on the vine, let campus antisemitism fester, and blamed Biden for not doing enough.
Then there is Trump’s return to defunding UNRWA and withdrawing from the UN Human Rights Council. Could not be happier about that. Here’s what Politico had to say about it:
“US President Donald Trump on Monday afternoon will issue an executive order to withdraw the US from the United Nations Human Rights Council and end funding for UNRWA, Politico reported.
According to a fact sheet obtained by Politico, the Human Rights Council ‘has not fulfilled its purpose and continues to be used as a protective body for countries committing horrific human rights violations.’ The sheet also condemned the Council’s position on Israel.
Under the executive order, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio must review and report to the White House regarding any international organizations, treaties, or conventions that ‘promote radical or anti-American sentiment.’”
“The U.S. has long accused the council of bias against Israel and of giving cover to governments with human rights abuses.”
And lets not forget Trump’s foreign policy A team - starting with his Rubio as Secretary of Defense.
Then there is the meeting with Netanyahu, the first with Trump of any foreign leader. In what has to be a shocking announcement during a press conference with the prime minister, the president announced his proposal of temporarily moving all Gaza Palestinians to neighboring Arab states while the US goes in there, cleans up the mess and rebuilds Gaza into a beautiful city by the sea.
This would surely help Israel's security situation. And I would love it if it could be done. But there isn't a snowball's chance in hell that this will happen. Even though Trump did not rule out using American troops in that cause. You never know with this guy.
Except for that pipe dream, the rest of it all sounds like a home run in each case. So much for all the handwringing about Trump 2.0 turning against Israel for personal gain. It just isn’t happening.
That said, to be perfectly honest, I am completely disappointed in Trump’s tariff strategy. Even though it seemed to succeed with Canada and Mexico in the sense that he got concessions from them on illegal immigrant and drug smuggling issues, tariffs are never a good idea.
His intention of stopping cheaply made goods flowing into the U.S. and thereby increasing manufacturing and jobs in America is a noble cause and might just work. But it will surely raise prices, since union-won wages are so high that goods produced here will go up in price significantly. The things Americans love so much are often produced in foreign countries where labor is cheap instead of China or Mexico. Smartphones,for example, that now cost about $1,000 may end up costing $1,500 if all components are made entirely in the U.S. This is no way to solve inflation.
I don’t know about anyone else, but I believe that Trump should have let sleeping dogs lie. No one was complaining. So, Mr. President… please: If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
