Mike Huckabee, Trump's pick for Israel ambassador, tries to distance from past Palestinian rhetoric

Source: Associated Press

Mike Huckabee, Trump’s pick for Israel ambassador, tries to distance from past Palestinian rhetoric

By MATTHEW LEE, FARNOUSH AMIRI and STEPHEN GROVES
Updated 1:04 PM EDT, March 25, 2025

WASHINGTON (AP) — Mike Huckabee, President Donald Trump’s nominee for U.S. ambassador to Israel, attempted to distance himself Tuesday from his past controversial statements about the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian people, pledging on Capitol Hill to “carry out the president’s priorities, not mine.”

“I am not here to articulate or defend my own views or policies, but to present myself as one who will respect and represent the President whose overwhelming election by the people will hopefully give me the honor of serving as ambassador to the State of Israel,” Huckabee said in his opening statement.

Trump nominated Huckabee, a well-known evangelical Christian and vehement supporter of Israel, to take on the critical post in Jerusalem days after he won reelection on a campaign promise to end the now 17-month war in Gaza. But after a brief ceasefire, U.S. and Arab mediators are now struggling to get a ceasefire deal back on track after Israeli forces resumed the war last week with a surprise wave of deadly airstrikes.

While Republican senators applauded Huckabee’s staunch support for America’s closest ally, Israel, Democrats questioned his past rhetoric about Palestinians deemed “extreme” by even some pro-Israel groups and contradicting longstanding U.S. policy in the region.

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Read more: https://apnews.com/article/israel-ambassador-congress-mike-huckabee-trump-gaza-a448937b9550f0f89c6d96d330286f6f