OPINION:
It was a joke — or was it?
In an Election Day phone call with “Fox & Friends” last week, President Trump told the show’s hosts that, given his “99%” approval rating among Israeli voters, “if people ever got tired of me in the U.S., I’ll move to Israel, become prime minister.”
It was not the first time Mr. Trump had publicly bandied about the idea of leading the Jewish state — nor was it the first time that he had cited the 99% figure, which, by all accounts, seems to be exaggerated.
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In May, he told reporters much the same thing, saying, “I’m right now at 99% in Israel. I could run for prime minister, so maybe after I do this, I’ll go to Israel, run for prime minister.”
Mr. Trump has reportedly said this at various gatherings too. Maybe it is time that he and everyone else took the idea seriously.
Because, despite all the good he has done — preventing a murderous, jihadi regime from annihilating us all with a “peaceful” nuclear bomb, giving us across-the-board tax cuts and the lowest crime rate in decades — Americans have had it with him. After all, he raised gas prices.
Going into the midterms, the NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll average put Mr. Trump at 38% approval. Rarely has his national popularity broken 40%.
So come 2029, The Donald should heed America’s “Amazon Prime” electorate — conditioned to expect the instantaneous meeting of all demands and same-day results from any efforts exerted — and take his talents elsewhere.
Here are just a few positions he might consider for his next chapter.
Israeli prime minister
Though Mr. Trump may not have a 99% approval rating in Israel, he is well-liked there. According to a February poll by the Jewish People Policy Institute, 73% of Israelis say that where Israel is concerned, Mr. Trump is a “better-than-average” president. Of those respondents, 49% also call him among the “best presidents in U.S. history.”
So why not give the premiership a serious try? It would be a relatively big lift, but Mr. Trump built his empire on his ability to meet challenges.
He would need to move to Israel, establish legal residency, learn Hebrew, qualify for naturalization under the Ministry of Interior’s statutory guidelines, join or form a political party, and secure a spot on a party list to enter the Knesset.
Despite not being a Jew, Mr. Trump — the only U.S. president who has had the courage to declare Jerusalem Israel’s capital and move the U.S. Embassy there — would doubtless work to keep the Jewish state Jewish.
U.S. senator for Wyoming, North Dakota or West Virginia
Wyoming, North Dakota and West Virginia deliver some of the highest Trump approval rates in the nation, and all will have Senate seats on the ballot in 2030. That would allow Mr. Trump to finish the second term of his presidency, move to one of these three states and start his bid.
He has a lot to campaign on when it comes to these states and their economies: an expanded push for domestic critical-mineral and rare-earth mining and processing in Wyoming, the approval of new pipelines in North Dakota, and big investments in coal-fired power and the dismantling of drug-trafficking rings in West Virginia.
Premier of Alberta or Saskatchewan
Mr. Trump is relatively well-liked in the Canadian provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan, where people tend to favor conservative values in line with Mr. Trump’s “America First” agenda. The economies there are resource- and traditional-energy dependent, two things Mr. Trump has prioritized.
In August, he polled at 23% and 27% favorability in Alberta and Saskatchewan, respectively, according to the Angus Reid Institute. That is notably higher than his broader national approval figures tracked across Canada during similar polling cycles.
To run for premier, Mr. Trump would need to become a Canadian citizen: move to Canada, accumulate at least three years (1,095 days) of physical presence within a five-year period prior to applying, file Canadian taxes, and pass the citizenship test. After that, he would just need to establish residency in his chosen province, file nomination papers, and collect the required local electors’ signatures mandated by provincial electoral law.
Mr. Trump has proved himself capable and tireless, but America no longer seems to be buying what he is selling. Actually, judging by all the self-proclaimed socialists they just elected, U.S. voters are not planning to buy anything at all, ever again. They will just have stuff handed to them free of charge, thank you very much.
Skilled, savvy people willing to work for the public good should go where that public appreciates them. Best of luck to you in your next endeavor, Mr. Trump.
• Anath Hartmann is deputy commentary editor of The Washington Times.
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