The former National Security Adviser to former President Trump is warning the Biden Administration, suggesting this one thing can sink the president’s already slim chances of securing the 2024 election win.
During an interview with CNN, John Bolton cautioned President Joe Biden not to recognize Palestine as an official state as part of the White House’s effort to bring stability to the Middle East.
Currently, the United States and several other countries do not consider Palestine to be an official state.
CNN host Phil Mattingly asked Bolton if he still stands by previous remarks, in which he called the two-state solution a dead end and that there was no kind of pathway forward to it.
“I think it’s even more true today,” Bolton said. “I will say this first. If Joe Biden wants to lose the election this November, go ahead and recognize a Palestinian state. Go ahead. Make Donald Trump’s day. You know, we’re not recognizing a state of mind. To recognize a state, there actually has to be one in existence, and right now, there is no Palestinian state.”
According to the New York Times and Axios, the Biden Administration wants to make a significant political shift in the American approach toward Palestinian statehood.
Despite opposition to the move, two U.S. officials familiar with the situation said that Secretary of State Antony Blinken requested a review of policy options for the recognition of a Palestinian state after Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza concludes.
Bolton claimed that the Biden Administration is “so gravely concerned about its political prospects in November” that it has become “nearly paralyzed” about what to do with the ongoing Israel-Hamas war as the president loses voters over his stance.
The outlets report that the Biden White House has been pushing for Palestinian statehood as part of a significant normalization pact and regional security initiative between Israel and Saudi Arabia. They reportedly believe that recognizing Palestine as an official state would be the stepping stone in talks to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict instead of the last.
On the country, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has expressed his strong opposition to establishing a Palestinian state.
According to a Lake Research Partners poll, support for Biden Democratic voters who identify as Arab or Muslim in Michigan fell to 16 percent. This starkly contrasts with 2020, where 80 percent of Muslim-majority districts supported the president.