Welcome to a new week, friends.  We’re going to hit it hard and heavy for a couple days, so stick with us!

Some (myself included) are growing more and more disenchanted with President Trump’s bluster, both verbally and on social media. I firmly believe President Trump has been the most pro-Israel president in American history. Moving the embassy to Jerusalem, acknowledging Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, giving Israel freedom to act in Gaza, voicing support over Israeli building projects in Judea and Samaria (aka the West Bank), and helping destroy the Iranian nuclear facilities are simply unmatched in US Presidential history. Huge kudos for those signs of support.

However, I see concerning chinks in the armor and believe the US might easily move away from Israel either during or soon after his administration. Today, let’s consider Trump’s bluster and its consequences to foreign policy in general. Then, tomorrow we’ll examine the Trump foreign policy team that is working against the best interests of Israel. These two issues dovetail to create legitimate concerns.  Let’s tackle the bluster first.

From Greenland to the UK to France to NATO and other US allies, Trump has gone off the rails with his comments and social media posts. It is simply not acceptable as an elected official, particularly at the highest levels of government (though he did soften somewhat at the WEF this past weekend). It damages his effectiveness and US integrity. America should be an upstanding nation that all others look to and wish to emulate. Sadly, I hope no other world leader emulates our president’s childish behavior. (Imagine if a foreign leader treated Trump the way he treats them!)

Here are some very recent examples of Trumpian bluster that lessens his ability to accomplish important foreign policy goals:

1. A recent photo of Trump planting a US flag on Greenland soil, with VP Vance and SecState Rubio looking on.  Too provocative for my taste, but perhaps we could give him a break if this was the only offense. But it isn’t.
2. He then posted a photo from the Oval Office depicting the US, Canada and Greenland overlaid with the American flag.  Why shove it in the face of Western allies we reportedly need to win over for America’s defense? For the world’s best deal maker, that is a horrible way to negotiate!
3. President Trump sent a letter to Norway’s Prime Minister on January 18, complaining of the Nobel Prize snub. He stated he no longer thinks “purely of peace” as a result of the snub and tied it to his adamant pursuit of Greenland.  How childish!  Not to mention Norway does not own Greenland. Denmark does.  Barking up the wrong tree is not a good look for American foreign policy, particularly with fellow NATO members.
4. Ahead of the World Economic Forum in Davos Switzerland, Trump received personal texts from the UN Secretary General and French President Emmanuel Macron, making favorable offers to meet. The President proceeded to publicly repost them on social media, making derogatory comments, including “Macron probably won’t be in office long anyway.” I am no fan of either of those world leaders and believe America should exert its influence upon them. However, to repost personal texts, then demean them is totally uncalled for and does nothing to bolster our foreign policy influence.
5. The UK is about to give away Diego Garcia, a strategic island in the Arabian Sea, hosting an important American military base, to Muslim-influenced Mauritius.  It is not a good move and America should oppose it, but in a diplomatic manner.  Not in a scathing post regarding the UK.  Again, uncalled for. True foreign policy should not take place over social media.

This is a short list and you see other examples of it every day on the news.  The point is that Trump seems to be more concerned with being the world’s wordiest strongman than in building appropriate coalitions important to American (and world) security. 

Israel isn’t the “end all” in American foreign policy, but there is a Biblical mandate to stand with them. As Trump ticks off world leaders who look to America for guidance and support, they must be wondering which direction Trump is going to turn as our world spirals further out of control. Will Trump spin with it?

One very big Israeli concern is Trump’s seeming cozy-up to people like Turkey’s President Erdogan and Syria’s former al-Qaeda commander-turned-de facto-president in Syria (al-Julani). Tomorrow we’ll take a look at those evil actors and who in the Trump administration is stoking those flames. 

Meanwhile, our job as believers is to turn to the One who is sovereign over all the earth, and to whom we pledge our allegiance, Jesus Christ.  Here’s a hint: the Bible tells us clearly that Israel will stand alone in the end, and Ezekiel 38 indicates America is either not present at all, or if so, stands back (along with Saudi Arabia and others) asking questions as Israel is attacked by a coalition of Russia, Iran, Turkey and north African territories. Yes, we should petition for righteous decisions concerning Israel, but we must ultimately trust that the Lord Jesus Christ will rise on Israel’s behalf when they are attacked, as Ezekiel 38-39 describes.

Could we be approaching the day America turns her back on Israel?  For many reasons addressed in days ahead, it seems very possible.  Tune in tomorrow as we consider where Trump’s foreign policy team stands.