If you can’t believe Breitbart, who can you trust in the days of the Trump presidency. Nonetheless: It cites a Jerusalem Post report that Donald Trump will name Huckabee to be his ambassador to Israel.
Huckabee has led many for-profit Holy Land tours over the years.
He might meet some coolness from liberals in Israel, given his recent citation of a fake news story that suggested “liberal Jews” were responsible for anti-Trump vandalism at an Illinois campus church following the election. The vandalism was months ago. Nobody ever accused Jews — liberal or otherwise — of doing it. Huckabee’s non-apology said only that he was sorry he got the date wrong ad meant nothing by repeating a mention of “liberal Jews.” The context was relevant he said.
This is a relief in many ways. He and Janet can do less harm holding social events in Israel than he could do running a department of government.
Huck’s political business might impinge on personal business. He currently is touted as a celebrity leader of a 10-day Israel trip in February. He’s much beloved by right-wingers there, as the Washington Post once noted.
In the past, Huckabee has advocated moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem.
Not that it matters, but most ambassadors to Israel over the years have been drawn from the ranks of career foreign service officers. The couple of political appointees that weren’t had extensive backgrounds in the Middle East. The current ambassador, Daniel Shapiro, for example, had been senior director for the Middle East at the UN and speaks Hebrew and Arabic.
STILL MORE: Particularly with detail on how Huckabee would lead move to embassy to Jerusalem, which won’t sit well with Muslim world. As if …..
UPDATE: Huck met with Trump this afternoon, declined to say what was discussed. He said he was loyal to Trump, period.
UPDATE: Huck tamps down rumor in Twitter
“Media buzz that I was named Amb to Israel is NOT true. Was never discussed with PE Trump; slot probably not picked until State Dept in place”