Trump to name former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee as ambassador to Israel

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee will be nominated as the U.S. Ambassador to Israel, President-elect Trump said Tuesday.

Huckabee is a longtime supporter of Israel and a critic of the Biden administration’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. He has previously spoken out against efforts to negotiate a ceasefire deal and called unauthorized settlements in the occupied West Bank “communities.”

“Mike has been a great public servant, Governor, and Leader in Faith for many years,” Trump wrote in a statement announcing the move. “He loves Israel, and the people of Israel, and likewise, the people of Israel love him. Mike will work tirelessly to bring about Peace in the Middle East!”

Huckabee was a longtime evangelical minister before running for political office and regularly leads “The Israel Experience” trips that take tour groups to sites with Biblical and historical significance, like the Sea of Galilee, the Garden of Gethsemane and the Old City of Jerusalem.

In Jan. 2017, days before Trump took office the first time, Huckabee spoke in the West Bank in front of a banner vowing to “Build Israel Great Again” while touting the policy shift Trump’s administration would bring.

There are certain words I refuse to use,” he said “There is no such thing as a West Bank – it’s Judea and Samaria. There’s no such thing as a settlement. They’re communities. They’re neighborhoods. They’re cities. There’s no such thing as an occupation.”

Huckabee’s selection comes as Israel’s conflicts against Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon continue.

On the campaign trail, Trump repeatedly claimed the war in Gaza would not have happened if he were in charge, and vowed to be Israel’s “protector” if elected, while also often criticizing Jewish voters that support Democrats.

 

Most of the country shifted right in the 2024 presidential election

In 2020, President Biden won six of the seven closely watched states. This year, President-elect Donald Trump won all seven — plus he will got a majority of the popular vote.

UConn’s Geno Auriemma becomes the all-time winningest college basketball coach

Geno Auriemma has led the women Huskies to 11 championships and nearly two dozen Final Four appearances in his four decades as head coach.

A duct-taped banana sells for $6.2 million at an art auction

A piece of conceptual art consisting of a simple banana, duct-taped to a wall, sold for $6.2 million at an auction Wednesday, with the winning bid coming from a prominent cryptocurrency entrepreneur.

Percival Everett wins the National Book Award fiction prize

Everett's novel James is a retelling of Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn. The prestigious literary prize also awards the best in non-fiction, poetry, translated literature and young people's literature.

After a court win, the Justice Department is trying to make Google sell its Chrome browser

If a judge orders Google to sell Chrome, it could dramatically upend the multibillion-dollar online search business.

U.S. charges Indian billionaire with defrauding investors, hiding bribery scheme

One of the world's richest people has been indicted on charges he duped investors in a massive solar energy project in India by concealing that it was being facilitated by an alleged bribery scheme.

More Front Page Coverage