U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee offered a different perspective this week after President Donald Trump declared that Israel would not exist today without his actions while in office.
Speaking Tuesday at the International Conference on Israeli Heritage in Judea and Samaria, Huckabee pushed back on the idea that any political leader could claim ultimate credit for Israel’s survival.
“It is your heritage, without a doubt, but it is also the heritage of the United States,” Huckabee said, according to The Jerusalem Post. “Without Israel, without the Jewish foundation, there would not be America. We owe our very existence to what happened in this land.”
The remarks came one day after Trump made headlines during a bilateral meeting with Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.
“Without me, there would be no Israel — because no other president was willing to do what I did,” Trump said.
WATCH: Trump’s Ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, defies Trump:
Without Israel, there would not be an America.
We owe our very existence to what happened in this land. pic.twitter.com/vPebgzLmBo
— Clash Report (@clashreport) June 16, 2026
The president’s comments were made while discussing his growing frustration with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel’s military operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon. Trump argued that the conflict has dragged on too long and risks complicating broader diplomatic efforts involving Iran.
“Israel’s fighting Hezbollah too long, and too many people are being killed, and you don’t have to knock down an apartment house every time you’re looking for somebody,” Trump said.
He added that while he has enjoyed a strong relationship with Netanyahu over the years, he believes the Israeli leader needs to take a more measured approach.
“I’ve had a great relationship with Bibi, but now Bibi has to be more responsible with respect to Lebanon,” Trump said. “I’m not happy with the way Israel has handled themselves with Lebanon and with Hezbollah.”
Trump further argued that prolonged military operations create obstacles to larger diplomatic objectives.
“They should have been able to handle the job faster. It just goes on forever, and when that happens, it throws a negative light on the big deal, and that’s the deal with Iran.”
Huckabee’s response reflected a viewpoint common among many evangelical Christians who support Israel for both political and religious reasons. Rather than emphasizing the role of any modern political figure, Huckabee pointed to the deep historical and biblical connections between Israel and the foundations of the United States.
“Without me there would be no Israel”
Donald Trump expressed frustration with Benjamin Netanyahu on the sidelines of the G7, criticizing Israel’s strikes in Lebanon and suggesting Syria would do a better job fighting Hezbollah https://t.co/9tOynd8kTs pic.twitter.com/djlMzSJo4y
— Bloomberg (@business) June 16, 2026
Supporters of that argument often note that America’s founding documents contain references rooted in biblical concepts. The Declaration of Independence invokes the “Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God,” language influenced by legal and philosophical traditions that drew heavily from Judeo-Christian teachings.
The Declaration’s assertion that human beings are “endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights” likewise reflects a worldview that many historians trace to biblical understandings of human dignity and moral law.
For many religious conservatives, those connections help explain why support for Israel remains such a significant issue. They view the nation not simply as a modern political ally but as a civilization that played a central role in shaping the religious traditions and moral principles that influenced America’s founding.
Trump himself has long enjoyed strong support among evangelical Christians, in part because of his policies toward Israel. His administration recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and moved the U.S. Embassy there in 2018, a decision celebrated by many supporters.
Many people were mocked for comparing the 45th President Trump to Cyrus in Isaiah 45.
Now these signs are all over Israel
“Thus saith the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him; and I will loose the loins of kings, to… pic.twitter.com/ZKwSe1i0JU
— Sean Feucht (@seanfeucht) October 13, 2025
That move prompted Netanyahu to compare Trump to the ancient Persian king Cyrus the Great, who, according to the Bible, allowed Jewish exiles to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the Temple.
“I want to tell you that the Jewish people have a long memory,” Netanyahu said at the time. “So we remember the proclamation of the great King Cyrus the Great.”
Following the joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities last year, reports emerged that signs appeared in parts of Israel once again drawing comparisons between Trump and Cyrus.
