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Nov 11, 2024

Trump Taps Pro-Israel Zealot Elise Stefanik As U.N. Ambassador

President-elect Donald J. Trump has offered Representative Elise Stefanik the role of U.N. ambassador.
  • 11 minutes
As long as I serve the American people, I will defend George Washington's vision of religious pluralism and freedom. Today, this means crushing anti-Semitism at home and supplying the State of Israel with what it needs, when it needs it, without conditions, to achieve [00:00:17] total victory in the face of evil. For years, I have been a leading proponent and partner to President Trump in his historic support for Israeli independence and security, including moving the U.S. Embassy to its rightful place in Jerusalem. [00:00:33] And finally, President Trump's wise decision to call out Unwra for what it is a hive of anti-Semitism and to eliminate every dollar of U.S. Funding. That was Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, representing the American people [00:00:49] in Israel, and she is declaring that she will constantly serve as a stooge for the Israeli government. That was what that was all about. And Donald Trump has awarded her for doing so because she has just been named as the U.S. [00:01:06] Ambassador to the United Nations. He decided to choose her for the role. What does it mean? What kind of power and influence will Elise Stefanik have on the United Nations? Something worth talking about. So look, UN ambassadors basically serve as the head of the U.S. [00:01:25] Delegation to the United Nations, which is around 150 people. They represent the U.S. On the UN Security Council. That's the area where Elise Stefanik will have the greatest power, because all it would take is for the United States to exercise its veto power [00:01:42] and essentially veto anything that the UN Security Council has agreed upon, even if the vast majority of members in the UN Security Council agree on something, all it takes is for the U.S. To veto it and they get their way. They also attend all meetings of the UN General Assembly, [00:02:00] and they're also tasked with keeping the state Department informed of all the goings on at the United Nations. Now, it's considered to be the second most important foreign policy position in the administration, behind Secretary of State. But there are some limitations to this role as well. [00:02:17] And as you saw in the cold open, Stefanik has extensively criticized both Unwra, which is a UN humanitarian agency that provides humanitarian aid to Palestinians and the United Nations itself. In October, for instance, Stefanik called for a complete reassessment of U.S. [00:02:34] Funding of the United Nations in response to efforts by the Palestinian Authority to expel Israel from the UN for alleged war crimes and human rights abuses committed in Gaza and West Bank. And, you know, she's also the person who got Claudine Gay, [00:02:52] the president of Harvard, to step down. Other Ivy League presidents stepped down as a result of the performative hearings that she called. And this is not great. This is not good. But I do want to revisit what the U.S. [00:03:09] Ambassador to the UN under Biden did in her role. So you'll get a sense that nothing's going to fundamentally change when it comes to U.S. Aid toward Israel, regardless of what the government wants to do. Well, this is similar to the conversation we had earlier in the show. [00:03:24] I think that Joe Biden was horrific on Biden and on Gaza, and so was his U.N. Ambassador, and so was Nikki Haley under Donald Trump when she was the UN ambassador. But Trump is threatening to take it to a different level here, where it's [00:03:41] going to be even worse than horrific. As we reported earlier, Smotrich is saying we're going to annex the West Bank. That is 3 million Palestinians. And so that would be the worst possible outcome. Now, Elise Stefanik going in, there is one very clear sign. [00:03:58] It's the most, non nuanced sign that anyone could ever give giant green light to Israel. And not blinking permanent. Any war, Any war crime. We're going to veto. We're going to veto any condemnation of Israel. [00:04:14] And on top of that, we'll start blaming the Palestinians for their own deaths. We'll blame them for how they forced us to steal their land. They forced us to kill them and start blaming them for everything. That's who Elise Stefanik. Stefanik is. She's one of the least moral people in the entire country. [00:04:30] She's like the heart of cruelty and evil when it comes to foreign policy and Israel. I don't think I could pick a worse pick than Elise Stefanik for this role. She's the one who demanded that American citizens be arrested if they criticize Israel on a college campus. [00:04:46] And she said the deans should be fired if they allow anyone to protest Israel. She hates the idea of American democracy and freedom of speech. She will only serve Israel. She will. America will not be first in the UN with Stefanik. Stephanie will be at best, at best number two. [00:05:04] But Israel will be an overwhelming number one. And Hannah, this is very important. This is Miriam Adelson's first gift from Trump. She of course she wanted Stefanik and and she's his second largest donor. Gave him $137 million. [00:05:20] She's a hard right wing lunatic supporter of Israel who wants them to annex almost all of the Palestinian land. And they will, and so will Stefanik is put in to say, you will do what Miriam says and give Israel everything it wants. [00:05:35] And I want to be clear, okay, for any of the Trump supporters who have a problem with the U.S. Funding Ukraine or funding any other war abroad. Elise Stefanik believes that there should be absolutely no limitations to the amount of your taxpayer money that should be sent to Israel. [00:05:55] That is what she has said on record your money. So something to keep in mind. But let's get to how elated Israel is over this appointment. In a statement on Monday, Israel's international spokesperson to the UN said [00:06:10] the country's ambassador, Danny Danon, looks forward to working closely with Elise Stefanik on tackling malicious lies at the UN, or that the UN advance by hostile nations while staying unswervingly. Unswervingly. [00:06:26] Unswervingly committed to truth and justice. - That is. - What we're calling. Israel now. Yeah, that is a laughable statement, to say the least. And, you know, look, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, who's the US ambassador to the UN under Biden, also has an awful record. [00:06:43] So I want to be clear about that. She has vetoed, on three separate occasions, the UN Security Council's decision to demand a ceasefire in Gaza. All it takes is the US. All it takes is one veto. And not only did she veto it once, she did it three times. [00:07:01] So again, it's incredibly frustrating because both political parties are completely captured, captured by pro-Israel lobbies and as a result, they carry out whatever is in the best interests of Israel, despite what it might [00:07:18] do to Palestinians or despite how against. You know, American citizens might be over those actions. - Right. - And go ahead. Yeah. I just build on something you said there. I think there's look. America first and Miriam Adelson are on a collision course. [00:07:35] They they are. Yeah. And so they're because America First genuinely believes that America should come first. And you could disagree with the different policies they have in that regard, but they're not unclear about it. And Miriam Adelson is also super clear that Israel should come first. [00:07:52] That's why she gave $137 million to Trump. That's why she got Stefanik as the pick. That's why Smotrich, today a far right cabinet minister in Israel, is saying, oh, we're going to start the plan to annex the West Bank. That's what Haaretz reported was Miriam Adelson's plan. So when they clash, I'm not saying it's going to be a big spectacular clash. [00:08:12] We don't know. And that's what's really interesting, right? But either America First will bow its head Ed and say, okay, because Trump said so. Israel first and America second. Okay. Or they will not bow their head. [00:08:27] And then, in which case I know Miriam's not going to bow her head. I know AIPAC is not going to bow their head and Netanyahu isn't. So if Netanyahu and America First clash, that is going to be one for the ages. I am curious to see how that plays out. Now, Dave Smith, who's a libertarian and has been very vocal against what Israel [00:08:44] has been doing against the Palestinians, endorsed Donald Trump pretty close to the election, and he had something to say about some of the appointments that we've been seeing from Trump for his cabinet. And here's what he had to say about it. There's a lot of talk about the coming appointments after the excellent decision [00:09:04] to box out Mike Pompeo and Nikki Haley, Trump followed up with a horrible UN pick. We need to keep the pressure going. And then he says some stuff that I don't agree with. So, for instance, he says, here's how Trump could really set up a heroic second term that is America first and would have a fighting shot at draining the swamp. [00:09:23] He thinks that Rand Paul should be Secretary of State. I've also heard Vivek floated that Vivek Ramaswamy was floated and that would also be great. Be careful what you wish for with Vivek. Yeah, he's also 100% pro Netanyahu. Also, I would just I would just ask Dave Smith to look into Tulsi Gabbard [00:09:43] a little more closely, because Tulsi Gabbard has done a good job branding herself as an antiwar individual. But in reality, all you need to do is a little bit of digging. She was pro-torture. She says that she's against regime change wars, but she was fully on board with the [00:09:58] war on terror, and she has been very much on the side of Israel in regard to, you know, the actions that they've taken against the Palestinian people, both in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Yeah, I mean, Dave is usually really smart on this issue and many other issues, and I respect him. [00:10:14] But I think you're almost certainly wrong about Vivek. But you're definitely wrong about Tulsi. Yes. So if you put her as secretary of Defense, be careful what you wish for because she's totally on Netanyahu's side. And look, it's also unsurprising that Trump would pick Elise Stefanik. [00:10:31] Yes, Miriam Adelson favored Stefanik for this role. But on top of that, Stefanik did what Trump loves the most. She kissed his ass endlessly, and she was rewarded for it. And so, for those who are willing to serve as like Trump's lackeys, individuals [00:10:48] who will, you know, aid and abet what he wants to do, they usually get rewarded. But be careful what you wish for. Nikki Haley had that role, and it didn't end up working out so well for her. So thanks for watching The Young Turks really appreciate it. Another way to show support is through YouTube memberships. [00:11:05] You'll get to interact with us more. There's live chat emojis, badges. You've got emojis of me Anna John Jr. So those are super fun. But you also get playback of our exclusive member only shows and specials right after they air. [00:11:21] So all of that, all you got to do is click that join button right underneath the video. Thank you.

The Young Turks: November 11, 2024