Foreign Policy

Trump Made the Jerusalem Decision on a Whim

Written by SK Ashby

Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and begin the long process of relocating the American embassy was opposed by the most important members of Trump's cabinet including Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Secretary of Defense James Mattis, but their advice was nothing in the face of Trump's whimsy.

Officials who spoke to the Washington Post say he made the decision for purely rhetorical reasons and seemed to rely on advice from third parties and his son-in-law Jared Kushner.

“It’s insane. We’re all resistant,” said one Trump confidant who recently spoke to the president about it. “He doesn’t realize what all he could trigger by doing this.” [...]

Several advisers said he did not seem to have a full understanding of the issue and instead appeared to be focused on “seeming pro-Israel,” in the words of one, and “making a deal,” in the words of another.

Once Trump indicated 10 days ago that he would not sign a second waiver, national security adviser H.R. McMaster began putting together options that officials assessed would result in the least damage.

"The least damage."

Kushner's reported involvement in the decision raises many questions, like just how big of a moron is he?

Kushner was ostensibly responsible for leading peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians, but Kushner supported Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

The obvious conclusion is that Kushner has no fucking idea what he's doing, but I suppose it's also possible Kushner knew Trump's decision would provoke a violent reaction (how could he not know that?) and the reaction will be used as a justification to abandon what little was left of the peace process.

I don't know if America's standing in the world will ever recover from Trump. It increasingly appears that President Obama's presence was merely a positive blip in a downward trend that began long ago. How can we ever truly recover if incoherent American voters threaten to rewrite the rules every 4 to 8 years by electing belligerent nincompoops? Rather than ask how other nations can trust America, maybe we should ask how other nations can trust American voters.

If we're going to recover, we're probably going to need President Obama's help. He's out there right now doing everything he can to stop the bleeding.