WASHINGTON: Mike Huckabee, President Donald Trump’s nominee for US ambassador to Israel, has attempted to distance himself from his past controversial statements about the conflict between Israel and Palestine, 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 honour 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.