Is Donald Trump actually good for Israel?

America is approaching elections, and former president Donald Trump seeks to return to the Oval Office in the White House, where he made dramatic decisions that affected our lives here as well, in the Holy Land. In the shadow of the assassination attempt on him, and in view of the Republican National Convention, i24NEWS went to the United States to meet with those who served in government, checking with them what the near future would look like with Trump as the 47th president of the US.

No philosophy

"He doesn't understand how alliances work," said John Bolton, who served as the National Security Advisor under the Trump administration.

"He doesn't have a philosophy. He doesn't think in policy terms – he thinks in ad hoc, transactional terms, seen through the prism, 'How does this help Donald Trump?'"

Bolton's views are not new, but they manage to surprise every time. He has often spoken out against the conduct of the former president. He is considered a hawk of the American right: He supported the war in Iraq and opposed the nuclear deal with Iran. In the end, he was less than impressed with the former president.

"I don't think he's fit to be president," Bolton said. "I don't think he understands enough, certainly in the national security space, about what America's national interests are."

Not afraid to speak out, even if support for Israel is unpopular

For Kenneth Marcus, the Israeli topic is close to his heart. In his role at the Department of Education under Trump, he specifically focused on anti-Israeli protests on campuses, years before they made headlines.

"To see what happened on October 7th was absolutely one of the most horrifying days of my life," he said. "But then to see how so many Americans, especially on campuses, have responded to the atrocities, to the anti-Israel 'genocides' - this has been absolutely worse."

Jason Greenblatt is well-known to Israelis. In the Trump administration, he was in charge of the Israeli-Palestinian portfolio, and he was also involved in constructing the Abraham Accords. He arrived at the White House after a 23-year acquaintance with Trump, as his lawyer. Greenblatt is willing to back him up, up to a certain point.

"He's the same guy that I always knew, in every interaction that I had with him, and he's a guy that I respect, even if he speaks differently than I would want to speak, or that I would want to teach my children to speak," Greenblatt said.

"He's very smart, he's very direct, he's very frank. He listens to a lot of people - which is a good thing, right? People always criticize that he listens to too many people. There's a lot of people with good ideas, and he synthesizes the information and makes a decision. He's not afraid to wear his heart on is sleeve. He is not afraid to say things that make people uncomfortable."

The average Israeli has less understanding of the internal conflict within the Republican party - between proponents of the free market and those of the working class. To the average Israeli, his story is self-evident - Trump is good for the Jews. Will his courage lead to bold decisions in favor of Israel? Or could his instability in policy potentially lead to a disaster?

Marcus: "It seems to me that if you are evaluating the campaign of someone who has already served as president, you have to look at their record. President Trump recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, established a US embassy in Jerusalem, established the 'Abrahamic [sic] Accords,' made great strides with respect to the Golan Heights, and elsewhere. I don't think we've had any US president who has been as good as president Trump."

But listens to harmful people

"Sometimes he absorbed information from people that we thought were harmful. For example, President [Mahmoud] Abbas." Greenblatt said.

"Before the Jerusalem recognition by president Trump, President Abbas made it seem like oh, it’s all Israel’s fault, and we’re ready to sign and we could do a really great deal," Greenblatt said. "And President Abbas, despite what people think, carries himself as a statesman. So when he’s sitting with President Trump and telling a story – he’s a very good salesman, President Abbas. So it was also our job to explain the broader situation with the Palestinians."

Bolton spoke about the meeting between the former president and Abu Mazen in Bethlehem in 2017.

"He came away convinced that Abbas really did want peace, and Bibi Netanyahu didn’t," said Bolton. "Not as much as Abbas, so that if it turns out that Trump is re-elected, I’m not sure that people in Israel should count on him being as favorable toward Israel as he was during his first term."

The former security adviser also talked about how Trump almost met with the former Iranian Foreign Minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif. "Late August of 2019 we attended the G7 summit in Biarritz, France," Bolton said. "Trump called me up to his hotel suite and, along with Mick Mulvaney, then the chief of staff, and Jared Kushner. He said, Macron had said he had Javad Zarif in a villa somewhere and he invited Trump to meet with him."

"I made the argument he should not meet with Javad Zarif, for a lot of good reasons. Mulvaney, to his credit, agreed, and Jared Kushner said, no, you should meet with him. Now, at this same time, Bibi Netanyahu was trying to get in touch with Trump, and Jared was intercepting the call," he added. "Jared said, you should meet with him, maybe you could get a deal."

Donald Trump has built a political brand on the "unexpected": what will he say, what will he decide, what will he do? The "unexpected" ousted John Bolton. The unexpected also brought Kenneth Marcus in. According to polls, the Israeli public believes in Trump's "unexpected", believes that he will again lead to good results. More with Marcus and Greenblatt, less with Bolton.