There are a good many individuals in the United States who would say that Donald Trump was the worst president our nation has ever seen.
Why?
Well, for most, it was how he occasionally portrayed himself in public and on social media. They didn’t like that he said what he thought and didn’t apologize. They didn’t like that he called out liars and those who were simply using the system to gain riches and power.
And for that, they called him divisive, a bigot, racist, and much, much more.
But if we look at his record as our president, not polling what people liked, but what he actually did for America, the truth becomes rather clear. He did for us what very few ever could.
And just one move showcases this.
On December 6, 2017, then-President Donald Trump officially recognized Jerusalem as the capital of the middle eastern nation and the democracy of Israel. Additionally, he moved the US embassy to the city. Previously the embassy was in Tel Aviv.
It might not seem like all that of a big deal to those of us living in the interior of the United States. But I promise it was huge for Israelites, Palestinians, and the future of world peace.
At the time, Trump said the move was made in the “pursuit of peace between Israel and the Palestinians,” which have been at war for centuries.
He stated, “Israel is a sovereign nation with the right, like every other sovereign nation, to determine its own capital. Acknowledging this is a fact is a necessary condition for achieving peace.”
And he wasn’t wrong.
As I mentioned, Israel and the Palestinians have been at odds with each other for as long as anyone can remember, with each claiming they have undeniable historical and religious rights to the land they occupy. But Israel is the nation; they are in charge and hold power.
As such, the government should be able to choose where its capital is. We, as Americans, at one point, decided to make Washington DC our capital, and so it was. The same should be no different in Israel. Government leaders or the people should be able to decide which city is their capital and where the head of their government resides.
The problem for Israel is that few other nations have come to recognize the wishes of the government, and as such, trade, foreign policy, and just about everything else has been hindered.
By actually doing so, Trump gave Israel, as the first and only Jewish nation in hundreds of years, some legitimacy and further solidified the US as one of her most devoted allies.
Now that’s not to say that other US presidents didn’t try, or at least say that they would. In fact, all three of those came before Trump made such promises.
Clinton and Bush both promised to officially recognize Jerusalem as the capital. As for Obama, he acknowledged that it was but never made anything official. Instead, he simply said, “Jerusalem will remain the capital of Israel.”
But it wasn’t until Trump came around that Jerusalem was made official as the capital, at least in the eyes of the US government, which as a leading world power, has much sway as to how other nations view the small Middle Eastern country.
Additionally, Trump also worked closely with Israeli officials and those from surrounding Arab nations to arrange the Abraham Accords, one of the first and strongest peace agreements between the countries to ever have existed.
Again, American presidents have been working toward such a deal for decades with no real success.
So what does this show?
Well, for one, it shows Trump has an incredible talent for international diplomacy. I mean, some of these nations have literally been at war with each other before and fairly recently. And yet, thanks to Trump, they are now harmonious neighbors.
And Trump didn’t just do this for Israel. He was also the first president to ever have gotten through to Kim Jong Un, North Korea’s aggressive dictator, a feat many had pretty much given up on.
This means that America finally became respected again. Our allies were strengthened, our adversaries kept on their toes, and all of it thanks to Donald Trump. So much so, in fact, that for the first time in a long time, America saw no new wars, confrontations, or military incidents happen during a president’s term.
Of course, the same cannot be said of Biden.
