IPF: Everybody loves Mike

Vice President Mike Pence’s trip to Israel this week can only be described as a love fest. From the moment he stepped off the military plane that ferried him from Amman to Ben Gurion Airport outside Tel Aviv, Pence was showered with adoration from Israelis, and Pence reciprocated in kind. Prime Minister Netanyahu referred to him as a “true friend” while Israeli columnists noted their appreciation for Pence’s unconditional support of Israel, even while registering their discomfort with his boss President Trump and even for policies that Pence himself promotes. Pence was no less gracious in returning the compliment, associating Israel with right, good, and liberty in his Knesset speech and waxing poetic that “Israel is like a tree that has grown deep roots in the soil of your forefathers, yet as it grows, it reaches ever closer to the heavens.” It is no exaggeration to say that if Israelis could unilaterally choose anyone in the world to be president of the United States, Pence would be on their short list.