Gov. Ron DeSantis, a potential 2024 presidential candidate, met with the Israeli and Emirati ambassadors to the United States on Thursday, a day before former President Donald Trump addressed a group of Orthodox Jews as he attempts to move on from his controversial dinner with two anti-semites last month.
Israeli Ambassador Michael Herzog tweeted a photo of himself with Governor Ron DeSantis and United Arab Emirates envoy Yousef al Otaiba on Twitter, announcing DeSantis’s unexpected presidential-style talk with the foreign ambassadors.
Herzog wrote, “I had a productive discussion with [DeSantis] and UAE Ambassador Al Otaiba.” “We provided an outline of the Abraham Accords and its strategic relevance and potential for Florida, the region, and the world. We invited him to travel to our nations in 2023.”
Herzog added, “I also congratulated Governor DeSantis for his staunch support of Israel and for the substantial measures he has made to combat antisemitism. We look forward to continuing to work with him to strengthen Israel-Florida ties and link Florida to the region’s exciting new dynamic.”
The meeting with @GovRonDeSantis and UAE Ambassador Al Otaiba was fruitful. We discussed the Abraham Accords and their strategic relevance and potential for our region, the world, and Florida. In 2023, we have invited him to visit our countries. pic.twitter.com/fYH0LVctlh
— Ambassador Michael Herzog (@AmbHerzog) December 15, 2022
In 2020, the Trump administration brokered the Abraham Accords, resulting in the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan establishing diplomatic relations with Israel, joining Egypt and Jordan.
Trump, 76, declared last month that he was starting a third consecutive presidential campaign, but according to recent polling, DeSantis, 44, could provide his greatest internal GOP challenge to yet.
Trump spoke at an Orthodox Jewish conference of teachers and social workers on Friday morning at his Trump National Doral Miami golf resort — a crucial test of his ability to move past the controversy surrounding his decision to dine at his Mar-a-Lago club with disgraced rapper Kanye West despite a spate of anti-Jewish remarks. West introduced Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes and afterwards claimed that the 24-year-old bigot wowed Trump.
In his remarks on Friday, the former president boasted that Mar-a-Lago was one of the first social clubs to permit Jewish and black members.
Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida, is regarded as a leading prospective presidential candidate.
AP
Due in part to his administration’s staunchly pro-Israel policies, orthodox Jews have emerged as crucial Trump supporters.
Ivanka Trump converted to Judaism to marry Jared Kushner, who became a key White House adviser, and he regularly boasted about his pro-Israel moves during his four years in office, including recognizing Israel’s annexation of the Golan Heights from Syria and moving the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
After dinner with West, Trump reportedly raged that the musician, who claims to be a 2024 presidential candidate, “tried to f— me” and claimed he was unaware of Fuentes prior to the meeting. West then gave a series of progressively insane interviews, at one point telling Alex Jones, “I love Hitler.”