It’s truly amazing how America is being transformed in a good and positive direction even before Donald Trump has been sworn into office. It’s becoming clearer as the days tick by that this new Trump Administration will not just differ by a wide margin from the Biden presidency; it will also be a marked improvement from the first Trump Administration, which was unfortunately shrouded in so much underhandedness and corruption emanating from Democratic Deep State operatives that were embedded inside the Beltway.
It’s funny as well as odd to think back to 2020, when the message from CNN and The New York Times was that with Biden taking the Oval Office, “the adults were back in charge.” Now, as the final days of Biden’s presidency begin to wane, it’s abundantly clear that this was the most inane and most vacuous administration to ever hold office in the United States, perhaps ever.
It’s not just ridiculous but also outdated to say that the 2020 election was stolen by Biden. It’s an old joke that everyone has already heard and knows the punchline. But do you remember in the interim period before Joe Biden was sworn into office in 2021, how he was paraded around with signs behind him and in front of the podium that read: “Office of the President-Elect”?
Can you imagine Trump appearing with those words following him wherever he goes? I thought it was silly back then and I believe it even more so today. Were the Biden people trying to convince the American public that they won an election that, perhaps, they didn’t really? But that is not what this is about. That’s an old joke and not even worth discussing.
With the advent of the second Trump Administration, this time, for the first time in years, the adults are truly back in charge. These adults include people with substantial credibility and a solid track record. They include people like JD Vance, Elon Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., along with cabinet nominees Marco Rubio, Pete Hegseth, and Elise Stefanik.
As we know, Governor Huckabee has been nominated as U.S. Ambassador to Israel. Of course, he will need to be confirmed by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee prior to taking up this pivotal position. Once that confirmation happens (though the questioning might be contentious), Huckabee and his wife will be moving from their home in Arkansas to most likely Jerusalem.
For Mike Huckabee, it is a dream come true, and as an added attraction, it’s a great move for the U.S. as well as for the State of Israel. Huckabee is a great friend of the Jewish people and harbors a special affinity for the land and people of Israel.
I don’t think he will have any issues with the Republicans on the Senate panel, but it is the Democrats on the committee that might be predisposed to put on quite a show. Democrat members and those most likely to challenge Huckabee are Corey Booker, Chris Coons, and Chris Van Hollen. The Republicans leading the charge will be folks like Ted Cruz, Mitt Romney, and Tim Scott.
The Democrats will no doubt challenge Huckabee on his position that he is not an advocate or a supporter of a two-state solution. They will also call him out for his position on Israel annexing Judea and Samaria, or as they are more commonly referred to as “the West Bank.”
Governor Huckabee is on record saying that he feels the so-called territories should be a part of Israel and not referred to as “settlements,” but rather as what they are: communities in Israel.
Once he is confirmed and sets himself up in Israel, Mr. Huckabee will have to hit the ground running. There is a great deal on the U.S.-Israel drawing board that needs to be dealt with immediately, and that includes ending the war in Gaza and bringing all the hostages home after more than 15 months of being held captive in Gaza. This talk about focusing solely on the four remaining American hostages is not something to be excited about after 14 months of robbing people’s freedom and keeping them in inhumane captivity.
Once the Trump Administration manages to get past the emergency crises on the agenda like Gaza and Lebanon, the ambassador will have to begin to deal with the more adult projects like continuing to grow the Abraham Accords on the road to real and lasting peace in the region.
The Trump-Rubio-Huckabee expertise and responsibility will require getting around the saccharine issue of requiring the establishment of a Palestinian State prior to the Saudis agreeing to recognize and deal with Israel directly.
The two-state issue zaps the energy out of the process just as it has done for the last half century. The Saudis and Kuwaitis would like nothing more than to step over the Palestinian issue and get moving in enjoying trade and importing technology from Israel just as the first quarter of the 21st century comes to a close.
There is no doubt that Huckabee is going to be abused by Democrats on the panel if he is forthright, open, and honest about how the Trump Administration sees the futile future of the useless two-state mantra. Someone has to be bold enough and brave enough to say that it just cannot happen in the foreseeable future. The Palestinians do not have the leadership in place and the mechanism by which they function is just too corrupt at this juncture to take such a giant step.
Huckabee will most likely face a bit more diplomatic abuse if and when he insists on referring to the so-called “disputed” territories as Judea and Samaria instead of the West Bank. One of the more contentious issues is the concept that after more than half a century, Israel’s annexing of Judea and Samaria and making the residents subject to Israeli law instead of military law as has been the case over all these decades.
The other day, on Monday, Trump held an impromptu press conference and aside from his opening remarks, took random question from reporters on an assortment of subjects and a number of issues.
I was watching the news conference out of the corner of my eye while also trying to write and listen to what the president had to say. I was so taken by our new commander-in-chief’s thoughtful answers that I had to stand up and move closer to the screen to focus on what he had to say. It was right about this time that I became wholly aware and recognized the difference between the first Trump term and what the upcoming second one will look like.
It will most likely take another few weeks until the Biden-Harris years will be recognized for their failure and incompetence, and then, shortly after that, most likely completely forgotten.
Donald Trump is not just the President-elect. He is for all intents and purposes the president, and he said it was going to be like that and that is exactly what we see unfolding before us. n
Read more of Larry Gordon’s articles at 5TJT.com. Follow 5 Towns Jewish Times on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for updates and live videos. Comments, questions, and suggestions are welcome at 5TJT.com and on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.