Trump follows predecessors in slowing Israel embassy move
Overshadowed by his unorthodox campaign promises, new US President Donald Trump, in his first days in office, has followed convention elsewhere in slowing down his pledge to move the US Embassy to Jerusalem.
WASHINGTON — Despite his unconventional campaign, protectionist economic agenda and professed affinity for Russia, Donald Trump, since his inauguration as America’s 45th president, has followed in the path of his predecessors in some key, if less noticed, respects. Among them, his first phone calls to foreign leaders since his Jan. 20 inauguration were, as is the convention, to the leaders of America’s northern and southern neighbors, Canada and Mexico; the first foreign leader invited to visit the White House is British Prime Minister Theresa May on Jan. 27, reinforcing the US-UK special relationship. Trump has also emulated his predecessors in abruptly slowing down, at least for now, his campaign pledge to move the US Embassy to Jerusalem.
“We are at the very beginning stages of even discussing this subject," White House press secretary Sean Spicer told journalists Jan. 22.
"There [are] no decisions," Spicer said at his first official White House press briefing Jan. 23. "His team is going to continue to consult with stakeholders as we get there.”
Pressed at the briefing if the US Embassy would have moved to Jerusalem at the end of Trump’s four-year term, Spicer did not budge, reiterating that consideration of any move was still in the very early stages.
