Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg, the current mayor of South Bend, Indiana, believes the U.S. embassy in Israeli should stay in Jerusalem, where President Donald Trump moved it last year amid much bipartisan contention.
Buttigieg, who amassed political star power in the past several months, has showcased a very leftist policy agenda, so this admission is somewhat of a surprise.
“I think what’s done is done,” said Buttigieg in an interview with Axios’ Mike Allen. “We need a big-picture strategy on the Middle East. I don’t know that we’d gain much by moving it to Tel Aviv.”
Despite his liberal politics, Buttigieg appears more willing to bend on symbolic gestures that don’t actually move policy forward. While many of his fellow Democratic colleagues running for the nomination are hard left, the 37-year-old mayor stands to gain the attention of moderate voters by respecting some of the decisions made by the current administration.
Leaving the embassy in place seems like a productive idea that will only help him when it’s time for people to step into their voting booths next year.