Statement on President Trump’s First Day in Office
Washington D.C. (January 21, 2025) – A New Policy cofounders Josh Paul and Tariq Habash issued the following statement on President Trump’s first day in office:
What does President Trump want? Is it, as he said during his Inaugural Address, to be remembered as a peacemaker, to end America’s “continuing catalogue of crises abroad,” or is it, as his first Executive Orders directed, to enable an escalation of settler violence against peaceful Palestinian communities and to set America at odds with its closest allies by enabling the sanctioning of the International Criminal Court?
Is it, as his first directive to Secretary of State Rubio ordered, to “champion core American interests and always put America and American citizens first,” or is it, as Israel’s ambassador to the United States has said he expects, the resumption of transfers of 2,000 lb bombs that Israel has used not only to devastate Gaza, but also to devastate the global credibility and influence of the United States?
It is increasingly clear that there is a disconnect between the old guard of the Republican Party and much of its base, including on U.S. policy towards Palestine and Israel. Such contradictions, when they play out between the words and actions of the Trump Administration, highlight this difference in real-time between the elected President and the unelected advisors around him. If President Trump wants to place American interests first, he should strongly consider whether current U.S. policy towards Israel and Palestine truly aligns with those interests, or is in need of urgent course correction, as we identified in our recent assessment.
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